A former New College Durham student has returned to the college as a senior building-services professional, leading M&E design work for Meldrum Building Services on a series of campus improvements. Ryan Hepple, now Head of MEP Design at Meldrum, is working on the college’s music relocation, library works and sports hall project. His route from vocational study into engineering design provides a practical example of how construction training can lead well beyond an initial trade or technical qualification.
Ryan Hepple, Head of MEP Design at Meldrum. Image: Meldrum.
From building services student to MEP design lead
Hepple previously studied at New College Durham, completing an HNC in Building Services Engineering before progressing to a First Class BEng (Hons) degree and an MSc in Building Services Engineering. His professional career has included work as a heating engineer and in MEP design before progressing to lead Meldrum’s in-house MEP team. Information supplied to London Construction Magazine says the team undertakes Stage 5 design work and works alongside external design consultants on building-services delivery.
That progression is particularly relevant to an industry where vocational and academic routes are sometimes treated as separate career paths. In practice, building services can take an entrant from installation and site experience through technical qualifications, detailed design, coordination and ultimately engineering leadership.
Hepple said: “It’s a privilege to give something back to a college that played such an important role in my career. Working on a project so close to home makes it even more rewarding, and I hope it’s the first of many opportunities to work with NCD.” His advice to current students is to keep an open mind about where an initial qualification can lead, continue learning and make use of experienced people around them rather than seeing a trade as the final destination of their training.
College and contractor relationship goes beyond recruitment
New College Durham describes employer collaboration as central to its training and skills development work, including partnerships covering construction, engineering, manufacturing and other technical sectors. The college also operates a dedicated Construction Centre of Excellence at Langley Moor, providing specialist construction teaching facilities alongside its wider technical and higher education provision.
Students and industry representatives at New College Durham’s Construction Centre of Excellence. Image: Meldrum / New College Durham.
For Meldrum, the relationship between education and construction is also part of its workforce model. The contractor told LCM that it has trained more than 200 apprentices during its 25 years in business, alongside work experience, shadowing and mentoring opportunities. Meldrum also continues to advertise apprenticeship and trainee routes into the business. The issue is wider than recruitment numbers. Construction needs people who can progress as project complexity increases. London Construction Magazine has previously examined how upskilling existing workers can provide capacity that external recruitment alone cannot, particularly in technical, supervisory and compliance-heavy roles.
Why the full-circle route matters to construction
Hepple’s career also shows why the distinction between trade education and professional engineering is becoming less useful. Building services delivery increasingly requires people who understand installation as well as design coordination, energy performance, commissioning requirements and the practical constraints of delivering MEP systems inside live projects. Similar employer-led approaches are appearing elsewhere in construction. LCM reported earlier this year on CITB’s accelerated apprenticeship programme and the first London cohort of the Langley Roofing Academy, both aimed at creating clearer routes between training and real industry demand.
Andy Broadbent, Principal and Chief Executive of New College Durham. Image: New College Durham.
New College Durham Principal and Chief Executive Andy Broadbent said Hepple’s return demonstrates the progression available to students who continue developing after their initial qualification. “The key message is that your starting point does not define your destination,” Broadbent said. “Ryan’s journey shows that progression into senior roles and leadership is absolutely achievable.”
For Hepple, that progression has now brought him back to the buildings where his own training began. The next stage is practical rather than symbolic: completing the M&E design work supporting New College Durham’s current music, library and sports hall improvements.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
