Degree apprenticeships are an initiative, backed by government, the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) and industry, to enable individuals to achieve an undergraduate or postgraduate level qualification while working.  Apprenticeships enable individuals to gain entry to a recognised occupation and receive on and off-the-job training, while earning a wage.

Collaborative working is essential to such initiatives as employers, higher education institutions (HEIs), regulators and professional bodies work together to develop a common apprenticeship standard and an end point assessment.

For the architects’ profession, an Architecture Trailblazer Group made up of 20 practices began work in late 2016 to develop two sets of standards, and were supported in this goal by ARB, RIBA and a number of UK universities.

On 27 June 2018, the Institute for Apprenticeships approved the standards and end point assessment documents for the architectural assistant apprenticeship, which encompasses a Part 1  qualification, and the architect apprenticeship, which encompasses a Part 2 qualification and a Part 3 qualification.

We welcomed the opportunity to work with a range of organisations to achieve this goal and are fully supportive of this new exciting route into the profession.  For our part, we advised the Trailblazer Group throughout the development of the documents to ensure that all the relevant requirements for registration and the prescription of qualifications would be covered by the qualifications that sit within the apprenticeships framework.

We have also been in regular contact with institutions interested in offering one or both apprenticeships and expect a number of applications for prescription or changes to existing prescribed qualifications over the coming months.  To help support those involved, we developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to assist institutions considering the development of provision.  We are also developing guidance for potential apprentices which will launch on our website in the near future.

If you would like more information in the meantime please contact the Qualifications Team who will be happy to assist (qualifications@arb.org.uk / 020 7580 5861).