New Funded Drone Skills Bootcamps Coming to South Yorkshire and the East Midlands
New Funded Drone Skills Bootcamps Coming to South Yorkshire and the East Midlands
Iprosurv is preparing to launch two new Drone Surveying & Digital Skills Bootcamps, creating funded training opportunities for people and businesses across South Yorkshire and the East Midlands.
Following the successful delivery of our previous Skills Bootcamp programme, Iprosurv has been awarded two new programmes for 2026/27, starting delivery in late October.
Delivered solely by the Iprosurv team, the new Drone Surveying & Digital Skills Bootcamp will combine practical drone training with the digital skills needed to turn captured imagery and survey data into information that can actually be used in the workplace.
And this is about much more than simply learning how to fly a drone.
From drone flying to real-world application
Drone technology is becoming an increasingly practical tool across construction, surveying, civil engineering, property, infrastructure, utilities, inspection and asset management.
But owning or flying a drone is only one part of the process.
To create real value, operators need to understand why they are flying, what information needs to be captured, how to collect it safely and how to turn that data into an output that a business or customer can actually use.
That is the principle behind Iprosurv’s new Drone Surveying & Digital Skills Bootcamp.
The programme follows the complete workflow:
PLAN IT.
Understand the site, airspace, risks, roles and mission objective.
FLY IT.
Develop practical platform handling and safe operational skills.
CAPTURE IT.
Collect imagery and survey data with a clear purpose.
PROCESS IT.
Turn captured information into mapped, 3D and digital outputs.
USE THE DATA.
Apply the results to measurement, reporting, inspection and real-world business workflows.
Learners will develop practical skills across safe drone operations, flight planning, data capture, mapping, data processing, 3D modelling, measurement and digital surveying applications.
Five practical drone training days
The Skills Bootcamp will be delivered through a blended learning model, combining structured online learning with five face-to-face practical training days.
The practical programme will include areas such as:
- Safe drone operations and site planning
- Risk assessment and operational decision-making
- Platform handling and supervised flight
- Mission planning
- Survey and mapping data capture
- Automated mapping workflows
- Data processing
- Orthomosaic and 3D outputs
- Measurement and digital survey workflows
- LiDAR and terrain applications
- Practical business use of drone-derived data
The focus throughout is on developing a capability that can be applied in the workplace rather than simply learning how to operate a drone.
You do not need to own a drone
One of the most common questions we receive about professional drone training is whether learners need their own equipment.
For this programme, the answer is no.
Iprosurv provides the training drones used during the practical sessions.
This allows learners to gain hands-on experience with professional equipment and different drone workflows without having to purchase a platform before starting the course.
We believe understanding the capability, workflow and business application should come before making decisions about equipment.
Funded Drone Skills Bootcamp places available
The full value of the programme is £4,100 per learner, with significant funding available for eligible applicants.
Eligible individual learners
Eligible independent learners may be able to access the programme with no learner contribution, subject to the relevant Skills Bootcamp eligibility requirements.
Self-employed professionals
Eligible self-employed learners may also be able to access the programme with no learner contribution.
The programme could be particularly valuable for self-employed professionals looking to introduce drone surveying, mapping, inspection or digital capture as an additional service within their business.
Employers with fewer than 250 employees
Eligible employers with fewer than 250 employees contribute 10% of the programme cost.
For this programme, that means an employer contribution of:
£410 per learner
against the full programme value of £4,100.
Employers with 250 or more employees
Larger eligible employers contribute 30% of the programme value:
£1,230 per learner
All funded places remain subject to eligibility, suitability and programme availability.
Who could benefit from professional drone surveying skills?
The programme has been designed around practical workplace applications rather than recreational drone flying.
It may be particularly relevant to people working in:
- Construction
- Civil engineering
- Building surveying
- Land surveying
- Quantity surveying
- Property
- Housing
- Highways
- Infrastructure
- Utilities
- Asset management
- Facilities management
- Inspection
- Environmental services
- Land management
It may also suit organisations considering introducing drone technology internally but wanting to develop their people before investing in equipment.
Develop drone capability inside your business or organisation
For employers, the Bootcamp offers an opportunity to develop an existing member of staff into a new or enhanced role involving drone technology.
Potential applications could include:
- Construction progress monitoring
- Site mapping
- Building and asset inspection
- Roof inspections
- Digital site capture
- Survey support
- 3D modelling
- Stockpile and volume measurement
- Terrain monitoring
- Asset condition recording
- Visual reporting
- Data collection for wider digital workflows
The aim is not simply to create another drone pilot.
It is to help organisations develop someone who understands how to safely plan an operation, collect the right information and use the resulting data effectively.
Limited places across South Yorkshire and the East Midlands
The initial 2026/27 programmes will provide 38 funded places across the two initial programmes.
Full programme dates, practical training locations and formal application details will be announced shortly.
Register your interest
We are now opening an early register of interest for people and businesses who would like to hear about the programme when recruitment formally opens.
You may want to register if you are:
- An employer considering introducing drone capability
- Looking to develop an employee into a new or enhanced role
- Self-employed and interested in adding drone surveying to your services
- Working within surveying, construction, property or infrastructure
- Looking to develop practical drone and digital skills for your career
Registering your interest does not commit you to joining the programme.
It simply means we can contact you when the full dates, locations, eligibility information and application process are released.
Be one of the first to hear when applications open
38 funded places will be available across South Yorkshire and the East Midlands.
Five hands-on practical training days.
Training drones provided.
Professional surveying, mapping and digital-data workflow
How to find out more and enrol
Organisations and individuals interested in the Skills Bootcamp Drone Surveying & Digital Skills Bootcamp can request further information and details of funded places by contacting:
Email: training@iprosurv.com
Website: www.iprosurv.com
Funded places are subject to eligibility, suitability and availability. Full programme, funding and application information will be published when recruitment formally opens.
