Firstplan welcomes ‘Build The Way’ apprentices

To coincide with last week’s National Careers Week, a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK, Firstplan were pleased to welcome three apprentices for the day as part of the Build The Way traineeship scheme.

The scheme, which sees trainees join a group of SME architectural practices — HUT, GPAD, Morrow + Lorraine and Shedkm — is a 9-month entry-level architecture traineeship, providing an alternative and accessible route into a career designing and making buildings, spaces, cities and communities. It specifically seeks to overcome the historic lack of accessibility, support and diversity within architecture and the built environment discipline. Additional mentorship is also provided by industry professionals POoR Collective and trainees are also enrolled at the London School of Architecture’s Extended Programme Qualification.

As part of the scheme, Firstplan provided the three apprentices with ‘A Day in The Life Of’-style work experience to give them an opportunity to engage with other professionals within the industry. The trainees each spent the day with a Firstplan Director and their team, undertaking activities such as site visits, client and in-house meetings and an external CPD event. In addition, introductory workshops were held on topics including the Use Classes Order and the planning application process. The trainees were then invited to use their newly-acquired skills in a range of practical tasks. The placement has provided the trainees with invaluable experience and insight into the interconnection between planning and architecture.

The Build The Way scheme has already received a commendation at the ‘Inspire Future Generations’ Awards and it aims to be part of the movement and debate around architectural education and training, changing the future landscape. Firstplan welcomed the opportunity to take part, and we look forward to contributing to the Build The Way scheme again in future years.