Vietnam´s positive economic development in general and the goal to be an industrialised country by 2020 as well as an increase of energy consumption in general and widespread electrification has been accompanied by a rapid rise in energy demand. At the same time there are a lot of global challenges to face. The worldwide consumption of fossil fuels, the emission of CO2 and the growth of population make alternative and sustainable solutions necessary.

The Vietnamese government has recognised the problem and in 2011 passed legislation on more economical and efficient use of energy in the future. The Green Growth Strategy, adopted in 2012, further underlined Vietnam´s commitment to sustainable development. However, the Vietnamese economy does not have the skilled personnel or expertise in climate-efficient materials and construction methods that meet modern standards in terms of building practices and management techniques to launch the programmes needed to implement these plans. Improving the energy efficiency of building holds enormous potential for a more efficient, environment friendly energy use.

Towards joint efforts, a development partnership (develoPPP) between the German consortium BFW Bau Sachsen e.V, Xella building materials GmbH and iproplan Planungsgesellschaft GmbH and the College of Urban Works Construction (CUWC) in Hanoi has been set up. This Public Private Partnership (PPP) is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented on behalf of BMZ by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), here the Vietnamese-German Programme of Reform of TVET in Vietnam.

The aim of this collaborative venture is to promote training and technology transfer for the Vietnamese building sector and to improve knowledge about new environment friendly building materials and practices and the transfer of skills and competencies in their hands on usage. In this partnership programme, all partners are working closely together to develop and pilot an appropriate TVET offer in form of a vocational training programme based on German standards for environmentally sound and energy-efficient construction works. To realise this practice-oriented training at a prototype house is conducted.

The construction of the environmental-friendly prototype house started end of 2014 at the College of Urban Works Construction in Ha Noi. The application of building materials with a self load-bearing structure is the first example in Viet Nam and will showcase a large range of energy-efficient solutions.

With support in form of practical instruction and supervisory of German experts, teachers, trainers and students of the partner college (CUWC) are more and more able to work independently. The handling with new building materials and its special features could be conveyed to teachers and students very quickly. The improvements in their working routine are visible just after some days; this emphasizes the importance of practice-oriented training for teachers and students in Vietnam.

As result of this PPP between the German private partners, the college (CUWC) under the Ministry of Construction and GIZ well trained teachers and instructors will be in the position to train students not only in the use of this new type of environment friendly construction technology but also in the installation of energy saving windows and doors, and maintenance of solar heaters, photovoltaic equipment, etc. in a new kind of training programme which is following an adapted German training standard.