Member Article

First UK demolition degree gets off the ground

The University of Wolverhampton has officially launched the first Demolition Management Master’s degree in the UK – and a local businessman is one of the first to sign up for the course.

Richard Dolman, Director at Nuneaton based AR Demolition, is enrolling on the course which starts in September at the University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment.

Accredited by the Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE), the course has been designed in conjunction with industry specialists and will be delivered by both academics and demolition sector experts.

This follows the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the University of Wolverhampton and IDE last September, providing significant opportunities for students and existing practitioners.

The sector, which works on more than £8 billion of projects every year, will use the qualifications to attract more young people into the industry, as well as ensuring current demolition engineers have access to the best possible professional development opportunities.

Key representatives from industry and academics from the curriculum delivery team have attended a series of planning meetings over the last two years to design the new Master’s degree course.

Richard said: “This new degree is a great step forward for learning and will be brilliant for our industry, moving forward in its quest to be ever more professional. I thought I’d like to get a degree in what I do, especially as I was never interested academically when I was younger.

“There’s a huge skills gap in demolition on all levels and it’s a personal challenge of mine to start to plug that gap.”

Dr Paul Hampton, Head of Built Environment at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “Our focus is to develop courses that are sector relevant and partially delivered in partnership with sector experts. We are confident this will provide a significant offer to the demolition industry and the wider Built Environment sector. In particular, this will address the sector skills gaps and provide a meaningful step change for recruiting future talent.”

Mick Ulyatt, Chair of the IDE Education Committee, said: “The formal accreditation of this degree is an historic landmark for the development of demolition engineering and is an important milestone in trying to get more young people interested in pursuing a career in this field.

“We have no problem attracting labourers and operatives, which is great. However, we want youngsters looking to become chartered demolition engineers, senior managers and the leaders of the future.

“There isn’t anything like this currently in the UK and the University of Wolverhampton has shown its passion and understanding of our sector by working with us to shape the content and delivery of the courses.”

Ten people have signed up for the Master’s course which will be delivered at City Campus in Wolverhampton, eventually transferring to the new Springfield Campus. The course will comprise of up to 15 different modules, ranging from asbestos removal and façade retention to working with explosives and health and safety.

The University’s ambitious plans for a new School of Architecture and the Built Environment forms the largest phase of its £100m redevelopment of the former brownfield Springfield Brewery site, part of its £250 million Our Vision, Your Opportunity investment to drive economic growth in the Black Country.

The new campus will be a centre of excellence for the built environment, construction and high value manufacturing to be delivered by the University and it is partners. 

Boasting more than 450 members, the IDE exists to promote and foster the science of demolition engineering.

This includes promotion of more efficient techniques in the industry, encourage safer methods of working and the provision of a qualifying body for the industry.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .