Cologne, Germany, September 17, 2026. Germany has a shortage of more than 110,000 skilled workers in the core trades of the metal and electrical industry.i In the Cologne region too, securing the supply of skilled manpower is one of the biggest challenges for companies.ii To enable continued training of young people to enter the sector, the City of Cologne has commissioned the investor and building owner Hemsö GmbH to construct a new educational facility for metalwork and utility engineering on Kaiserstrasse in Cologne’s Porz district to replace the existing vocational college, which is in need of refurbishment. The campus will have a size of around 25,000 square meters and host around 1,300 students. The project includes new workshops, a sports center and outdoor facilities. The project is valued at approximately 130 million euros. Drees & Sommer SE, a company that specializes in construction, real estate and infrastructure, will manage the project.
When Old Facilities Are an Obstacle to Modern Learning
There is limited capacity for adapting the existing college buildings, which are in need of refurbishment, to the vocational training standards of today. At the same time, the transition to digital processes, the energy shift to renewables, and new production technologies are fundamentally changing the requirements for jobs in the craft and technical professions.
The new educational campus is being sustainably built on a disused industrial site. With modern learning spaces, it will meet the changing requirements of vocational training.
Energy efficient technologies and a planned photovoltaic system will help reduce the energy consumption of the building and save resources. The project will be a model of climate change mitigation und future-oriented vocational education.
Construction of Educational Buildings as a Joint Project
The construction of the new vocational college represents an expansion of the German educational building portfolio of Hemsö, a company specializing in social real estate. The company is not only a real estate owner, but also operates as a portfolio manager. “Requirements on schools are increasing and public resources are limited. So, long-term models for the development of educational buildings are becoming increasingly important. They create planning certainty for local authorities and contribute to the faster implementation of urgently needed education infrastructure,“ explained Jens Nagel, managing director at Hemsö GmbH. The new vocational college will be realized and operated by the portfolio holder based on a 25-year rental contract.
The new campus will be jointly realized by WWB Weser-Wohnbau Group, Goldbeck West GmbH and Drees & Sommer, who will closely work with Hemsö. WWB has initiated the project and provided the site. Goldbeck is responsible for planning and turnkey construction of the building. The handover to the City of Cologne is planned for the 2031/32 school year.
Setting up Successful and Sustainable Education Infrastructure
Drees & Sommer is managing the project on behalf of Hemsö. The consultancy’s expert teams provide planning and execution services, and ensure compliance with deadlines, costs and quality standards. “Having already worked directly for Cologne’s city government on a number of projects, we are familiar with the local needs and processes. However, this particular combination of stakeholders is new for us.” The complexity of the project and the large number of participants require extensive coordination and close interaction between all project partners. In the final analysis, all stakeholders have the same goal: the provision of a strong educational offer in the region,“ explained Anja Könings, team head at Drees & Sommer.
The vocational college in Cologne’s Porz district is part of a comprehensive modernization of Cologne’s education infrastructure. Anja Könings has already been involved in the design and implementation of a total of 22 school construction projects in the cathedral city since 2018. Ten further schools are to be built by 2031 with the expert’s direct participation. The expert commented: “Educational real estate projects are particularly demanding. The buildings must be tailored to address the particular needs of their users, who are in a formative phase of their lives.“
Educational Hub for Tomorrow’s Experts
Metalwork and utility engineering are among the most important areas of training for infrastructure development. In consideration of the shortage of skilled staff and the increasing demand for housing, renovation of buildings, and modern energy supplies, education is an important pillar of Germany’s safety and modernization efforts. Skilled workers trained in utility engineering install heat pumps, heating systems or energy-efficient ventilation and climate systems. Metal work and construction engineering experts build machines or maintain them. They are therefore a key basis for the efficiency of industry, crafts and infrastructure.
The new construction of the vocational college in the Porz district of Cologne is an excellent example for successful development of modern educational infrastructure with participation of the public sector, long-term investors and experienced project partners. The new educational hub offers an optimal learning environment for young people, and also supports the training of the skilled workers essential for development and running an efficient infrastructure.