HABITABLE reinforces professional training in sustainable housing at its fourth European meeting in Greece

The European project HABITABLE – Centres of Vocational Excellence in the Habitat Sector, funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ programme, held its fourth transnational meeting on 21 and 22 October in Greece, also hosting an important Multiplier Event on the campus of the University of Thessaly in Karditsa.

At this working meeting, the consortium partners gathered to analyse the progress made, plan the next phases of the project and share the initial results focused on the housing, timber and sustainable construction sectors.

The internal project meeting provided an opportunity to assess progress in key areas: analysis of training needs, building skills for the digital and green transition, and preparation of the future Platform of Centres of Professional Excellence for Sustainable Habitat that the project aims to co-create. At the same time, the Multiplier Event organised activities open to the public and participatory workshops in collaboration with Greek partners CLUBE (Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia) and DIMITRA. These initiatives involved both the academic community and professionals in the sector, creating a space for dialogue on the future challenges of sustainable habitat.

Objectives in support of the green and digital transition

HABITABLE project aims to respond to the challenges and needs of the housing sector in terms of skills shortages and mismatches resulting from the digital and green transitions. To this end, it seeks to improve the responsiveness of vocational training (VET) systems while promoting inclusion and educational equity.

The future Platform of Centres of Professional Excellence for Sustainable Habitat is conceived as a ‘skills ecosystem’ capable of bringing together, sharing and disseminating good practices, micro-credentials and innovative methodologies aimed at the wood, furniture, light construction and habitat sectors.

Integration into the European framework

The development of HABITABLE comes at a time when the European Commission is reiterating the urgent need to strengthen professional skills in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In March 2025, the Union of Skills initiative was presented, with the aim of promoting lifelong learning, reskilling and the development of new skills in the face of the digital and green transition.

Likewise, recent reports indicate that the wood and housing sector requires a highly skilled workforce to take on the challenge of the circular economy, sustainable design and process digitalisation. One example is the document published by the European Wood Policy Platform, which calls for the modernisation of vocational training and the development of pan-European skills recognition mechanisms for this sector.

Next steps

Over the coming months, the HABITABLE consortium will work on:

• Completion of the design of the Platform of Centres of Professional Excellence for Sustainable Habitat,
• The definition of training routes, micro-credentials and digital tools linked to the sustainable housing and construction sector.
• The evaluation of the regional pilot programme for its replicability and scalability in other European countries and contexts.
• The dissemination of results and the integration of learning.

This fourth transnational meeting and the Multiplier Event in Greece mark an important milestone within the project and in the European field of vocational training for the ‘twin transitions’ —digital and green— in the housing sector. The consortium reaffirms its commitment to training innovation, cross-sector collaboration and the promotion of wood and housing as strategic vectors for a circular and sustainable economy.