Can Tech-Driven Education Help Fix Construction’s Labor Crisis?
Table of Contents
Share this post
The construction sector is facing a critical challenge.
Across Europe, the industry is struggling with severe labor shortages, with a projected deficit of 4.1 million construction workers by 2035.
In Lithuania, the issue is even more pressing, being one of the world’s top ten fastest-depopulating nations, where the number of working-age citizens is expected to shrink by over 19% by 2025.
This raises an urgent question for policymakers and educators alike:
How can we reverse this trend and attract a new generation of professionals to construction—an industry that may have lost some of its appeal among younger people?
Rethinking Construction Education
Construction has traditionally been taught using lectures, blueprints, and 2D technical drawings, requiring students to mentally translate “flat” designs into real-world structures.
While digital tools like 3D modeling have long been adopted by architects and designers, the construction site itself has remained largely analog.
The result is a disconnect between modern design practices and on-site execution.
This gap makes the learning experience feel outdated and disconnected from the intuitive, tech-driven environments today’s students are accustomed to.
At Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Vilnius Tech), educators are challenging the traditional approach by bringing new technologies into their curriculum.
Their goal is to create an engaging, experience-driven learning approach that aligns with modern construction practices.
To help achieve this, Vilnius Tech has integrated augmented reality (AR) into its civil engineering and BIM programs, leveraging digital models to enhance spatial understanding and bridge the gap between theory and application.
One of the tools supporting this initiative is GAMMA AR, which allows students to visualize and interact with BIM models, overlaying them onto the actual jobsite.
“Here at the university, this technology lets students experience their BIM models in real space, making learning far more engaging and practical,” said Vaidotas Šarka, CEO of InnoBIM UAB, BIM Manager, and Associate Professor at Vilnius Tech.
The OpenBIM-Powered Classroom
To further enhance AR-based learning, Vilnius Tech has turned its own campus into a real-world training environment.
Two of its buildings—the Laboratory and Education facilities—were built using Lithuania’s Digital Construction (Skaitmeninė statyba) BIM methodology.
These structures now serve as the foundation for an openBIM demonstration environment, where students engage with BIM technologies in an applied setting.
In this environment, students not only gain experience working with digital models during the design and build phases, but also explore their use in post-construction workflows.
They learn how to verify as-built conditions against the original design and begin training in how digital models can support facility management and long-term maintenance
Such skills are increasingly in demand as the industry shifts toward data-driven building operations.
Building on this, Vilnius Tech’s integration of digital construction methods into its courses has enabled students to:
- Visualize projects in 3D before they are built, improving spatial awareness and comprehension.
- Practice jobsite coordination, issue detection and documentation, reinforcing skills essential for real-world projects.
- Develop early problem-solving abilities, learning to identify and resolve design issues before construction begins.
This hands-on approach equips students with practical experience, making them workforce-ready and more adaptable to rising industry demands.
Looking ahead, the university is also exploring ways to expand the use of GAMMA AR—integrating features like QR code functionality—offering students even broader, more interactive learning opportunities.
A Glimpse into the Future of Construction Training
As construction faces new challenges—from labor shortages to the need for more efficient and sustainable building practices—education must evolve to keep up.
Šarka believes that AR will soon become a standard solution in construction workflows—and that today’s students will be the very ones driving this adoption and use.
“Students who learn how to effectively use AR and BIM will demand these technologies in their future jobs, driving industry change,” he said.
With innovative projects like the one at Vilnius Tech, the construction sector is bridging the skills gap as well as preparing itself for the future.
These efforts are the kind that make the profession more engaging, tech-driven, and attractive to new generations—ensuring the industry remains sustainable in the long run.
If you’re part of a university or research institution thinking about using AR-powered learning in your curriculum, get in touch with us to explore how we support educational initiatives with special programs.
Image: BIM model of Vilnius Tech’s Laboratory and Education buildings. Courtesy of Vaidotas Šarka, Vilnius Tech.
