BUILD UP Skills - National Platforms on energy efficiency skills for the clean energy transition

The BUILD UP Skills - National Platforms on energy efficiency skills for the clean energy transition grant, part of the LIFE 2025 Clean Energy Transition program, aims to fill skills gaps in the building sector and accelerate the European Union's clean energy transition. This opportunity targets consortia consisting of at least three applicants from three different eligible countries, and likely applicants include public authorities, industry associations, educational institutions, NGOs, and energy agencies.

This funding opportunity is classified as a LIFE Project Grant, specifically an Other Action Grant. The grant provides financial support at a 95% funding rate, with project proposals eligible for up to EUR 1.75 million, although the total allocated budget for the topic is EUR 6 million.

The call operates under a single-stage application process, with a submission deadline set for September 23, 2025. The scope of the grant is divided into two categories. Scope A supports the operations of existing national skills platforms in specific countries, such as Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, and others, focusing on ongoing activities and campaigns to promote skilled professionals in energy efficiency. Scope B aims to re-establish national skills platforms in other eligible countries, emphasizing stakeholder involvement and the development of a national roadmap for upskilling.

Proposals must demonstrate preliminary interest from national stakeholders through letters of support and are encouraged to collaborate with existing initiatives like the BUILD UP Skills and the EU Pact for Skills. The aim is to create platforms that enhance cooperation among public and private stakeholders, promoting training in energy efficiency professions.

The expected impacts of funded projects include increased stakeholder engagement, the number of trained professionals, and significant contributions to energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction. Admissibility conditions cover proposal structure, eligibility criteria, and evaluation processes.

Overall, this grant seeks to bolster the clean energy transition by addressing the skills gap in the European workforce, facilitating projects that either support or establish national platforms for energy efficiency skills. The support is open to single applicants or consortia from eligible countries, aimed at fostering a sufficient workforce capable of meeting EU energy efficiency and renewable energy goals.

The LIFE-2025-CET-BUILDSKILLS call, under the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) and the LIFE Clean Energy Transition call, aims to address the bottleneck of lacking skilled professionals in the clean energy transition, impacting both the energy transition itself and European economic growth. The call operates under the LIFE-PJG LIFE Project Grants action type, utilizing a LIFE Action Grant Budget-Based model grant agreement. The submission process is single-stage, opening on April 24, 2025, and closing on September 23, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The funding rate is 95% through Other Action Grants (OAGs).

The primary objective is to build upon national platforms to increase the number of skilled professionals in Europe. This involves improving awareness and cooperation among public and private stakeholders, implementing upskilling and reskilling initiatives, and promoting energy efficiency professions at the national level. The call targets skills and professions relevant to the energy transition of construction and renovation value chains, the integration of renewable energy sources in buildings, and other energy efficiency professions as defined by Article 28(1) EED, prioritizing gaps identified by Member States.

There are two scopes for proposals:

Scope A: Supporting operations of existing national skills platforms. This is for eligible countries where a national platform is already operational. Proposals should focus on continuing the operation of the national platform, implementing measures from the 2030 national roadmap, and designing a large-scale national communication and awareness campaign. The campaign should promote skilled professionals, advocate for upskilling, and attract individuals to energy efficiency professions, addressing gaps identified in national reports. Activities include online and onsite channels, and roadshows in dedicated cities. Eligible countries under Scope A are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain.

Scope B: (Re)establishing national skills platforms. This is for other eligible countries not listed under Scope A. Proposals should focus on re-establishing the national platform, securing stakeholder involvement, conducting skills intelligence activities, designing a national roadmap, promoting the roadmap's implementation, and designing a large-scale national communication and awareness raising campaign. Similar to Scope A, the campaign should promote skilled professionals, advocate for upskilling, and attract individuals to energy efficiency professions, addressing gaps identified in national reports. Activities include online and onsite channels, and roadshows in dedicated cities.

For both scopes, proposals must demonstrate preliminary interest from national stakeholders through letters of support. A small share of activities should be dedicated to exchanging with similar platforms across Europe, coordinated by the Commission. Proposals should build on existing national initiatives, including BUILD UP Skills and the EU Pact for Skills, and maintain cooperation with the BUILD UP Skills Community of Practice.

Proposals can be submitted by a single applicant or applicants from a single eligible country. The focus should be on impactful national initiatives, with only one platform supported per country. The Commission suggests requesting up to EUR 1.5 million, but other amounts can be proposed.

Expected impacts include: number of key stakeholders involved, number of platform meetings, number of national policy documents, number of measures implemented, number of people impacted by campaigns, number of trained professionals, increase in annual training rate, and amount of funding secured. Proposals should also quantify impacts related to primary and final energy savings, renewable energy generation, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and investments in sustainable energy.

Admissibility conditions relate to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity, exclusion criteria, submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring, thresholds, indicative timeline, and legal and financial setup.

Relevant documents include the call document, application form templates, model grant agreements, LIFE Multiannual Work Programme, LIFE Regulation, EU Financial Regulation, rules for legal entity validation, and guidance documents.

The total budget for the LIFE-2025-CET-BUILDSKILLS topic is EUR 6,000,000.

This call for proposals aims to bolster the clean energy transition by addressing the critical skills gap in the European workforce. It seeks to fund projects that either support existing national platforms focused on energy efficiency skills or help establish new ones. These platforms are intended to bring together key stakeholders, develop national roadmaps for upskilling and reskilling, and launch awareness campaigns to attract more people to energy efficiency professions. The ultimate goal is to ensure that Europe has a sufficient number of skilled professionals to meet its ambitious energy efficiency and renewable energy targets, thereby driving the clean energy transition and fostering economic growth. The funding is available to single applicants or consortia from eligible countries, with a focus on national initiatives and a suggested budget of up to 1.5 million EUR per project.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call specifies that proposals may be submitted by a single applicant or by applicants from a single eligible country. The types of organizations that could apply include government authorities responsible for education and energy, professional chambers, education and training providers, trade unions, academia, energy efficiency professionals, training providers, and employment agencies. The call also seeks to attract relevant profiles external to the energy sector, e.g. professionals from other sectors offering reskilling potential, as well as underrepresented groups such as women and youth, including students from vocational and higher education institutions. SMEs, including microenterprises, are also specifically targeted.

Funding Type: The funding type is a LIFE Project Grant (LIFE-PJG), which is an Other Action Grant (OAG).

Consortium Requirement: Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant or by applicants from a single eligible country.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility appears to be focused on EU Member States, with specific mention of countries where national platforms are already running. The call also mentions eligible countries not listed under Scope A, implying a broader European scope.

Target Sector: The program targets the clean energy transition, focusing on skills and professions relevant for the energy transition of the construction and renovation value chains, the integration of renewable energy sources in buildings, and expanding to other energy efficiency professions. It also targets the construction ecosystem, energy efficiency, renewable energy, education, and training.

Mentioned Countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain.

Project Stage: The project stage varies depending on the scope. Scope A focuses on supporting the operations of existing national skills platforms, suggesting a development or validation stage. Scope B focuses on re-establishing national skills platforms, suggesting a research or development stage.

Funding Amount: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 1.5 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts. The total budget for the LIFE-2025-CET-BUILDSKILLS topic is 6,000,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a LIFE Project Grant.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The funding rate is indicated as 95% for Other Action Grants (OAGs).

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly state a co-funding requirement, but it does mention securing funding (public or private) to roll out training and qualification programmes, suggesting that leveraging additional funding is expected.

Summary: This opportunity is a call for proposals under the LIFE Clean Energy Transition program, specifically targeting the BUILD UP Skills initiative. It aims to address the skills gap in the energy efficiency sector by supporting national platforms focused on upskilling and reskilling professionals in the construction and renovation value chains. The call is divided into two scopes: Scope A supports the operations of existing national skills platforms in specific countries, while Scope B focuses on re-establishing these platforms in other eligible countries. The funding is provided as a LIFE Project Grant, with a suggested EU contribution of up to EUR 1.5 million per project. The call encourages proposals from a wide range of stakeholders, including government authorities, training providers, industry associations, and aims to promote awareness and cooperation to increase the number of skilled professionals in the clean energy sector. The application process is a single-stage submission, and the deadline for submissions is September 23, 2025. The call emphasizes the importance of demonstrating a substantial preliminary interest from relevant national stakeholders through letters of support. The overall goal is to build on national platforms to increase the number of skilled professionals in Europe by improving awareness and cooperation between key public and private stakeholders, rolling out the needed upskilling and reskilling actions, as well as promoting and attracting more people to energy efficiency professions at national level.