Foster + Partners chairs Trailblazer Group, the UK's first model maker apprenticeship program

2024-08-22T11:58:00-04:00

A brand new apprenticeship opportunity will grant aspiring workers in the UK's architecture industry the chance to learn professional model-making skills in an initiative chaired by Foster + Partners in collaboration with a group of other British universities and design firms. The three-year Trailblazer Group program is officially a Level 6 qualification (equivalent to a bachelor's degree).

Apprentices will earn a salary and other benefits while they learn. As the firm's announcement notes, this is meant to spur greater diversity in the profession. It coincides with the movement to reform pathways into architecture that has recently been taken up by RIBA and factored extensively in the body of fundamental overhauls proposed by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) last year.

Architecture apprenticeship model launching next month between UK schools and firms

2018-08-23T14:58:00-04:00

The first group of architectural apprentices will start at leading practices such as AHMM, Hawkins\Brown and PRP next month as a major new sector initiative gets underway. Practices AtelierWest, GPA (Get Planning and Architecture), Ingleton Wood, and To-Do Design are also pioneering two types of apprenticeships as a route into the profession in collaboration with London South Bank University.

Following the architecture apprenticeship initiative led by Foster + Partners, the first group entering the ‘earn while you learn’ program will begin next month in the UK. This approach will offer both professional experience and tuition-free academic training, while also providing a salary to apprentices.

Charles Egbu, dean of London Southbank’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment stated, "These apprenticeship courses will provide an alternative, more cost-effective route to ARB registration, while diversifying the profession and strengthening ties between the architectural industry and academia."

London Southbank’s School of Architecture will be the only one to offer Level 6 apprenticeship. Participating schools also include De Montford, Northumbria, Oxford Brookes, and Portsmouth offering Level 7 qualification.

Firms with wage bills of more than $3.8 million a year have been charged 0.5% of their total wage bill to fund these new apprenticeships. Smaller firms outsi...

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Foster + Partners chairs Trailblazer Group, the UK's first model maker apprenticeship program

Architecture apprenticeship model launching next month between UK schools and firms