Customized training to improve energy-management practices in industry and buildings: Insights and challenges from Slovenia

This paper presents the design, implementation, and outcomes of customized training activities carried out within the LIFE IP CARE4CLIMATE project to strengthen capacity for energy management, energy efficiency, and renewable energy use in buildings and industry. The program was structured as a progressive capacity-building pathway for public-sector actors and private-sector participants, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, moving from understanding energy consumption and energy-management practices to identifying concrete improvement measures and supporting their implementation. A total of 20, targeted 3-day training sessions were delivered to 596 participants from the public and private sectors. The program combined theoretical lectures, practical examples, and applied exercises. It involved more than 40 expert lecturers from industry as well as public and private institutions, ensuring a balance between conceptual and practice-oriented perspectives. The training performance was assessed using attendance records and participants' feedback. Over the first 5 years of implementation, participation exceeded the project's predefined target of 450 trainees by more than 30%, indicating strong demand for tailored capacity-building activities in this field. Feedback from the participants highlighted the relevance of the training's content and the need for additional expert knowledge and follow-up support to enable the practical implementation of energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects. The results show that customized training can effectively strengthen institutional and professional capacities for a sustainable energy transition, while also revealing three key challenges: translating acquired knowledge into implementation, ensuring continued expert support after training, and the need to continuously adapt curricula to the evolving needs of professionals in buildings and industry.