12 Feb ‘Amazing’ Colchester graduate celebrates being UK’s first-ever Level 7 Architect Apprentice in National Apprenticeship Week 2021
An aspiring Colchester architect has become one of the first in the UK to gain a new degree apprenticeship after four years of toil and is calling on more young people in Essex to consider entering construction as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2021 (Feb 8-14).
Colchester property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood has hailed the “amazing” achievement of Lily Green who has achieved a Level 7 Architecture Apprenticeship – the equivalent of a master’s degree and the highest possible apprenticeship level.
The four-year apprenticeship involves gaining the knowledge and skills defined within architecture specific levels which must be achieved to become registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB). It launched in June 2018 and Miss Green was among the first cohort in the country, studying at London South Bank University.
The 26-year-old said: “I am absolutely thrilled and very relieved to have achieved the Level 7 Architect Apprenticeship. The last four years of hard work and sacrifice, bolstered by the fantastic support and sponsorship from Ingleton Wood, has paid off.
“I am proud to be among the first practitioners in the UK to become a qualified architect through this route. I was assigned a practice mentor who motivated and challenged me while it was incredibly useful to harness the expertise of the wider team at Ingleton Wood.”
Architects lead on the processes of planning, designing and reviewing the construction of buildings and are usually the first point of contact in a design team, working with clients and contractors to make final decisions during the design and construction phases.
Miss Green, from Ipswich, admitted she found transitioning to remote learning to complete her apprenticeship “a difficult challenge” at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was a sudden change from spending one day a week on campus in London to everything being remote,” she said. “But I soon found I could use the usual commuting time to fit in more study time which became hugely beneficial when completing the course.”
She first became interested in joining the construction industry because of her passion for the arts, sociology and design and is encouraging more young people to enter the “incredibly rewarding” profession as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2021 (Feb 8-14).
The Construction Industry Training Board says over 1,000 new architects are needed each year to keep up with demand. Ingleton Wood has announced plans to double the number of apprentices to help invest in local skills and support the local economy’s post-Covid revival. The Practice currently has 10 apprentices operating across the region.
Miss Green said: “Apprenticeships are a great route into architecture and the construction industry. You earn a full-time wage while studying and gain a diverse range of up-to-date practical skills and knowledge to future-proof yourself.
“There are so many benefits and I really do urge young people considering their next step or anyone thinking about a career change to look into the opportunities available to them.”
Meanwhile, Max Chapman, Associate Architect at Ingleton Wood’s Colchester Office, is also celebrating after achieving the same Level 7 qualification.
David Cresswell, Partner at Ingleton Wood, said: “We are very proud of Lily and Max for being the first in the country to have completed the Level 7 Architecture Apprenticeship.
“They showed a tremendous amount of self-discipline and dedication to achieve the very demanding new degree-level qualification and we know they’ll go onto become shining stars for Ingleton Wood and across the construction industry.
“National Apprenticeship Week provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the importance of apprenticeships and other vocational pathways to get into construction. They provide life-changing opportunities and we look forward to taking on more apprentices and investing in more local people and local skills in the near future.”
Ingleton Wood is one of the largest property and construction consultancies covering Central England, East Anglia, London and the South East, with offices in Colchester, Norwich, Cambridge, Billericay, Oxford and London. Its services include architecture, building surveying, building services engineering, planning, interior design, civil and structural engineering, quantity surveying, project management and health and safety.
For anyone interested in apprenticeship opportunities at Ingleton Wood or to speak to someone at the firm about working in construction, email [email protected].
