Drone professionals are being given an opportunity to develop their skills with a free course in South Wales
The ECITB drone course is being funded by the ECITB and the Swansea Bay City Deal Skills and Talent Programme, and will provide drone operators with advanced skills for working on complex or hazardous industrial sites.
The course, named The ECITB Advanced Industrial Drone Operations Course, is taking place in March at the Llys Nini Centre in Penllergaer.
The course is aimed at those with drone experience already
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are already used for work on refineries, petrochemical facilities, power generation and transmission infrastructure, nuclear sites, or major construction and engineering projects, and their use is becoming more frequent.
To help the uplift of using this technology in projects, the ECITB launched a foundation UAS course in 2023, which this new course can build on.
Martyn Johnson, ECITB Head of Region for Wales, said: “The growing use of drones in industrial settings is improving safety, increasing efficiency and reducing workers’ exposure to work-at-height risks and other hazardous environments, such as for asset inspections.
“The ECITB Advanced Industrial Drone Operations course is designed for experienced drone professionals working in, or preparing to work in, high-risk engineering and construction environments.
“This intensive five-day programme goes far beyond basic flight skills. It prepares operators to safely and effectively deploy UAS on complex industrial sites, where safety, compliance, data integrity and teamwork are non-negotiable.
“Participants will develop a deep, practical understanding of how drones really behave in challenging industrial environments, how failures occur and how to identify, assess and manage risk on live industrial sites.
“The course also covers operating drones safely alongside other disciplines in complex workspaces and making operational decisions under real-world constraints.
“It is aligned with the expectations of industrial clients, site owners and principal contractors, providing assurance that operators can work safely, professionally and competently in the most demanding environments.”
The construction drone market is expanding
Data published in September last year from DataM Intelligence suggests that, in 2023, the construction drone market reached £5.7bn, and is destined to reach £15.9bn by 2033.
Drones offer construction workers advanced sensors, analytics, and cloud platforms, while also making tasks such as inspections, surveying, and mapping both easier and safer.
And especially with AI and BIM also on the rise, the report suggests that these new technologies will rapidly become a core part of the construction process.
