The Dutch government wants to create no more construction waste by 2050 and use exhaustible raw materials as little as possible. As a result, the construction and installation sector will look very different in the next 10 years. It will be a circular economy, and it is fast approaching. Rijkswaterstaat, the largest employer in the construction industry, has indicated that it wants to be fully circular by 2030. And contractor Heijmans even wants to do as much as possible circularly as early as 2023. This means much more modular construction and the use of natural materials, such as wood, is expected to increase. Old-fashioned demolition will become dismantling, with the aim of being able to reuse the valuable raw materials in a demolition building.
Many of your students who will soon be working in construction and installation companies will have to deal with this. The work of plumbers, electricians, masons and installers is going to change. They need circular skills to do so. However, the inclusion of circular skills in the VMBO technology curriculum is still in its infancy, as the survey completed by 35 technology teachers showed.
It is important to take steps. This inspiration document is meant to help with that. It wants to show what is possible with circular skills in the classroom and gives ideas, outlines, on which you can build. This is a growth document that we, the Technotrend Foundation, will continue to supplement and resend.
