The University of Wolverhampton has officially launched the UK’s first master’s degree in demolition management.

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.

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.

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.”

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 course.

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.”