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How did Freddie Edwards get into construction project management without a construction degree?

12 August 2026 Pegasus Radio · Freddie Edwards

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Freddie Edwards studied French at the University of Leeds and briefly considered teaching before ruling it out. He had worked on building sites as a teenager, and when he crossed paths with a future employer named Russell at a sailing club, a week of work experience turned into nearly eight years at Quartz Project Services. His entry into construction was entirely accidental — but one he quickly found he genuinely enjoyed.

A sailing club handshake that changed everything

There was no career plan, no construction degree, no deliberate pivot. Freddie Edwards simply met the right person at the right time. Russell, who would later become his employer at Quartz Project Services, was a fellow sailor. That shared interest opened a door that a CV alone probably would not have.

The week of work experience that followed was not a formal programme — it was an informal opportunity born from a personal connection. Yet it led to a graduate role at Quartz Project Services, and Edwards stayed for nearly eight years, progressing from graduate to senior project manager before founding Dragonfly Projects in 2022. As explored in this episode of Pegasus Radio, the path was shaped far more by human relationships than by academic credentials.

Teenage site work laid the groundwork before he knew it

Before university, before French, before any thought of a professional career, Freddie Edwards was already spending time on building sites as a teenager. That hands-on exposure did not lead directly to a career — but it meant the environment was never foreign to him when the opportunity eventually arrived.

This is a detail worth noting for anyone who assumes construction careers require a conventional route. Edwards never set out to become a project manager. He set out to study a language, considered teaching, and ended up on site because of who he happened to know — a pattern that Pegasus Radio regularly surfaces in its conversations with founders in the built environment.

"The reason why I set up Dragonfly wasn't actually just to be able to run my own business. It was the privilege of being able to become an employer. Business is all about looking after people and businesses, and it's also about looking after our own."

What Edwards describes is not an outlier story — it is a reminder that in construction, as in many professional services, relationships often outweigh formal qualifications as a starting point. The technical knowledge came later, through eight years of progressive responsibility at Quartz Project Services. The door, however, was opened by a conversation at a sailing club.

This episode also touches on how that same people-first instinct now shapes how Edwards runs Dragonfly Projects — from the way he tailors services to each client, to the deliberate decision to hire people with complementary strengths rather than replicas of himself. The full conversation is available through the Pegasus Radio feed on Listenly.