Competent explosives workers in the Armed Forces and in the civil sector are
critical to the safe production, testing and use of explosives. Moreover we need
competent explosives specialists to combat the challenge from terrorism and
clean up the planet from the explosive hazards that are the legacy of past
conflicts. Unfortunately many countries are witnessing a significant loss of
capability in this area and are looking at ways of replenishing vital expertise.
This paper describes the work done in recent years by the authors and others in
the UK to establish numbers of people working in the sector and to consider the
skills and knowledge required to carry out their work. It outlines the concept
of national occupational standards and the framework of professional and
vocational qualifications that are available or are being developed for
explosives specialists. It also describes some of the educational and e-learning
programmes designed to support this initiative. Ultimately the aim is to address
the professionalism of all personnel who deal with explosives in order to reduce
the incidence and consequence of accidents and maintain national capability
