Architectural Apprentice Review

I help with the design and delivery of mainly pre-application/planning stages of a project with some technical work and CGI aspects. I help with the design approach of the company as a whole - this mainly comes in the form of CGIs and graphical work. We work on a range of projects from one-off house to schools, housing estates to commercial and industrial properties, and renovation works to conceptual design. My role also involves helping/teaching those in the company with many things both design and technical as well as draughting and computer modelling.

I am constantly looking to improve and better myself both in knowledge and skill and have greatly valued the responsibilities I have been given at OSG. I have been exposed to many different projects and have greatly enjoyed learning through this as well as talking to more experienced colleagues and learning through their knowledge and skills. I have really enjoyed getting to grips with the rendering software TwinMotion this year - and would highly recommend to others

I have really enjoyed getting back into studying and having a different, more design based aspect to my job/apprenticeship. I feel I have been able to apply this to my day to day job, however they are both vastly different and at times the transition between the two has been difficult. I do wish their was more opportunity to learn things like new programmes/software, new drawing and presentation techniques, and more exposure to what is happening in the world of architecture to better my own understanding.

On the whole it is well thought out but often not well executed - things like overlaps in timetables, unclear instructions and meeting times/locations, time-wasting from tutors in group settings, messages late at night or on the weekend or short notice before (informal) deadlines. I have found this has made things quite stressful, and feel it is mostly unnecessary. However I do feel like I know have a better understanding of how things work and how I can get more out of this in the years to come.

OSG have been extremely supportive in many ways and I enjoy the fact that the company is growing and evolving and always looking to be better. I feel like this means that our relationship works well both ways. LSBU and OSG Have had limited communication and I’m not sure how helpful that has been, however I don’t see this as a huge concern. In some ways I feel just my status as a student/apprentice holds me back in terms of career progression currently i.e. promotions, raises, reaponsibilities

I have really enjoyed the university environment on the whole and face to face learning has been excellent however outside of that I have found it difficult - and quite confusing in some cases. I feel like LSBU have had some ‘teething problems’ in the past year - but these can easily be ironed out. Given the global pandemic I do think they have on the whole been excellent in understanding things need to change - however this doesn’t always translate to the student/apprentice experience.

I definitely have a wider understanding of architecture and it’s role in the world, as well as this I feel I have matured and expanded in my own design understanding and approach, although this has been largely self taught it has definitely been ignited by the course and my time so far at LSBU. I have also enjoyed being along side my peers and seeing their work and processes and learning from that this past year.

There is the occasional pub trip, curry night out, local area cpd and even football and netball events, however these do not occur very often. There are also occasional things such as bake-offs and fantasy football which people enjoy.

Yes

They have a real emphasis of training people up and colleagues learning from each other. They are always looking to improve and as such are always moving forward, and as quite a young company this points towards an exciting future. There is a great mix between young and old, technically minded and design minded and as such the company is a great melting pot of different minds that makes it an exciting place to work.

I would highly recommend this and hope the company do continue to bring on more apprentices. I think that I would probably say to not be afraid to mix studying with work and vice versa - this is something I want to get better at and feel like it not only makes life easier but also allows you to get the most out of both.