Architectural Education Isn't Preparing Students Enough

Did you know that 74% of this year's Part 1 graduates don't feel confident entering the workplace? Honestly, I'm not shocked at this percentage. This weekend I did an informal survey on my Instagram page with around 90 participants on average*. I wanted to understand the degree to which practical skills are implemented in architectural courses and whether this is reflected in how students themselves feel now that the academic year has come to a close.

For context, the RIBA was doing a Skills Survey at some point in the last 10 years but the most recent data seems to be for 2017 - which is pretty outdated so I thought it would be good to take this into my own hands and utilise the platform and reach I've built.

How confident do you feel entering the workplace as a Part 1?

There are quite a few factors to consider here such as the current job market and scarcity in Part 1 roles specifically as well as the experience current graduates will have had. The majority of their degree has had to shift online, making facilities such as workshops, studios and in-person tutorials obsolete.

This could also boil down to the lack of knowledge about practice in general (which we'll come on to later). In university, we are primarily working on hypothetical projects, with a general focus on technical aspects and almost no inclusion of how this would translate as a real project in an architectural practice. I feel that how current graduates are feeling right now is not dissimilar to the way I felt when I graduated 2 years ago.

It's also excruciatingly frustrating when you look back on your course page - specifically, those statistics that sell you this magnificent and hopeful notion that '90% of our graduates end up getting a job within 6 months of graduation' only to then read the finer print and realise that the survey data makes up 12-15 people of whom most are probably not even working in practice but instead a part-time job in an entirely unrelated industry.

A result of this frustration has been felt by other graduates I have spoken to and actually led to the creation of the Architecture Agora - a collection of real reviews of architecture courses in the UK, written by students to get a better understanding of what the university has to offer. For example, I was taken aback to learn that some universities actually offer software workshops and classes whereas I was told it's not an essential part of the degree...

How have you learnt software during the course of the past year?

This leads me to my next question, regarding the only skill employers seem to care about yet is totally dismissed in university. I had even gotten a response saying they feel the university lacks tangible knowledge and questioning what exactly they are paying for if they can Google everything? This is another topic in itself though.

In almost every single job description, the software is outlined. Most commonly these are AutoCAD, Sketchup, Revit and additional 3D software such as Rhino. So why is it that we are somehow expected to be extremely proficient on top of managing and working on multiple modules and assignments throughout the course of the year? Surely, an introductory workshop or series of classes on utilising software to create visual representations isn't that difficult to organise.

Many students are either self-taught or haven't even learnt any software. I completely understand the skill in sketching, hand-drawings and not treating software as the source of creativity, but if it's an essential skill in the workplace, I think we should be doing more to make this accessible to students.

Do you feel you have a good understanding of what practice is like as a Part 1?

As someone who had no prior experience before graduating, it was really difficult for me to understand the kinds of tasks and duties a Part 1 Architectural Assistant has on a daily basis. I assume this comes from the fact that while you're a student, there is little to no information about practice available to you unless you take the initiative to speak to tutors or guest critics to get a better understanding.

Having now worked in practice myself, I, like many others, have realised it's completely different to education which honestly doesn't prepare us well. Apart from design work such as drawings and 3D modelling, a Part 1 may be involved in other aspects such as creating effective presentation documents, diagrammatic visuals and if you're lucky, getting to submit some form of planning application.

Through my platform, I've tried to give an insight into what this chapter in a person's architectural career may look like, although it's important to note that not everyone's experience will be the same. The aim is to teach, educate or simply expose current students to the information I certainly didn't have as a student. These questions have also led me to create an online studio that tackles these issues, but more on that later.

Of which of the following do you feel Architecture courses should cover?

Choices for this question were specific. Apart from software, which we've already discussed in detail, 32% of students feel that they should be taught more about business management and how to run a practice. If these kinds of topics are covered later on in the Part 3, why can't they also be introduced earlier on? Many students surely aspire to qualify as architects, reach senior-level positions or even start their own practice and the sooner these are covered, the better. Preparation is key.

I also included local planning and soft skills as other options. This is because I feel that understanding how planning works is a good skill to have and certainly in smaller firms there is a lot of emphases put on this through the timescale of a project and its deliverables. Client communication is also a pretty daunting experience that could be covered in university. Additionally, I had other comments from students who felt that the industry currently lacks real support for its students who are supposedly the next generation of architects.

As a student do you feel confident in presenting and pitching your projects during a crit?

Have you noticed how no one really teaches you how to present your project during a crit? We're basically just thrown into it at the start of the first year. But so many people struggle with this, either due to last-minute work or not having enough confidence to face harsh criticism. You often hear of incidents where students have left crits in tears, feeling panicked and dejected and that is just one element in the toxic behaviour we see in architecture schools.

From the data, we can see that most students are confident sometimes, but there is an alarming number of people who don't feel confident at all or are confident but hesitant due to the criticism they may face. There were several additional comments who mentioned that universities should look to employ objective critics who don't make it a point to humiliate you publicly.

2021 graduates, have you got a CV and portfolio ready?

At the time of this article, deadlines have just passed, so I'm not too surprised that the majority of graduates don't have their CV and portfolio ready in order to start the job-seeking process. As someone who prides themselves on planning ahead and organising things in advance, I had my application material ready 1 month before my final submission. But I realise that the pressure and workload may not allow for some to do this beforehand.

It can also be the case that some students don't really know how to put this together. From conversations with various students studying at London universities, I've realised that the typical 'employment lectures' are nothing but a stamp of assurance but often don't have any informative or actionable advice. Please let me know in the comments if this is just what I've experienced though.

So to conclude, it seems as though architecture students aren't really prepared for the next step on the architectural ladder and university doesn't seem to be teaching us the skills we think are necessary. This results in either self-teaching and learning things externally or not being prepared at all and having a disadvantage when it comes to job seeking.

To tackle this issue, I'm creating an online studio course where we will teach students how to develop their skills and implement habits that will prepare them for the upcoming journey in your architectural career with the core benefit of working alongside like-minded peers, mentors and a being part of an exclusive community. Keep an eye out in July to learn more about this.

I'd be very interested in hearing from young practices, directors and educators on what they think about this.

*Considering my audience comprises of students and graduates from around the world, I recognise that some of the participants may not be current students and not all may have answered every single question.