Koch, C and Bertelsen, N H (2014) Changing institutions of knowing: Climate mitigation, craft competences and vocational training in Denmark. In: Raiden, A and Aboagye-Nimo, E (eds.) Proceedings of 30th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2014, Portsmouth, UK.
Abstract
In order to reach the EU 2020 goals for the climate, Danish vocational training units are currently in a process of institutional change triggered by the need of providing energy, and new process competences for the skilled and semiskilled workforce active in construction. The aim of the present paper is to analyze enablers and barriers for this institutional change. The vocational education system in Denmark is strongly institutionalised with unions, employerÕs associations and the schools in central roles. Drawing on institutional theory contributions on labour market -, educational - and professional institutions, the paper presents a study of institutional work inside and across schools and craft disciplines working in SMEs involved in new building and renovation with an energy aspect. Collaboration between four education committees for carpenters, masons, electricians and plumbers and interviews with seven companies come to focus on competences of interdisciplinary collaboration and sustainable innovation in SME. The anticipation of future building regulation of 2015 and 2020 creates an institutional pressure in education for change including handling differentiated demands of customers and contractors, not always just following regulation but occasionally ahead of it. At a time this needs to be balanced with customer needs with a comfort orientation and issues of cost and financing. The committees act in a contradictory, sometimes conservative manner in this change of institutions of knowing. In the future specialization will be supplemented by horizontal and vertical interdisciplinary and innovative competences integrating the complex process industrialized construction sector. Schools, teachers and digital teaching materials need be developed to support this change supported by front running companies and results from innovative building projects. The education committees in Denmark can have a leading role in this development and set high and motivational standards for the improvements. The analysis sees however a lot more barriers than enablers.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competences; craft; vocational training; energy; climate; industrialization |
| Index terms: | financing, institutional work, mitigation, collaboration, institutional pressure, institutional change, regulation, specialization, interview, labour market, competence, drawing, industrialized construction, building regulation, vocational education, interdisciplinary collaboration, electrician, comfort, renovation, institutional theory, carpenter, Denmark, vocational training, industrialization, mason, plumber |
| Subjects: | renovation and retrofit, professional education, practitioner, economic analysis, sociology, Geography, economic development, economics, technical documentation, construction type, business, political science, management, regulatory law, research design and methodology, personnel development, data collection methods, professional development, financial risk, occupational health and safety management |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Human Resources, Roles and Professions, Governance, Cost Management, Education, Geographical Context, Construction Technology, Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Health and Safety, Design Practice, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Supply Chain Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here