“The DfE decision to pull levy funding from Level 7 apprenticeships for anyone over 21 is an act of vandalism on an already fragile talent pipeline.
Architecture is a seven-year slog that routinely leaves graduates at least £100,000 in debt, five years’ tuition (£46 k) plus living costs, for a first salary in the role of an Architect that averages barely £38 k.
That brutal equation has been pushing bright, diverse candidates away from the profession for years. The Level 7 apprenticeship was the first credible alternative: earn while you learn, gain real world experience, and qualify without the mortgage sized student loan.
Today’s age cap kicks that ladder away just as it was beginning to work. Government data show that well over 60 percent of Level 6 and 7 apprenticeship starts are by people aged 22 plus, exactly the cohort now shut out. A door closed for career changers, parents returning to work, and talented Part 1s who cannot afford a second degree.
Politicians say they are refocusing resources on entry level training, yet the reality is that employers, already wrestling with higher taxes and thin margins, must now shoulder the full cost of a master’s level apprenticeship. Most practices simply will not, so the places will vanish. The result will be fewer qualified architects by 2030, less socioeconomic diversity in our studios, and a poorer built environment for everyone.
Labour promised to widen opportunity. Instead of tinkering with age caps, we should be doubling down on high level, skills based routes that reflect how architecture is actually practised today: apprenticeships, modular learning, proper mentoring. Anything less is a travesty.”
Thank you to Gino Spocchia, Chief Reporter for the Architects’ Journal asking for my opinion on this important matter.
Read the full article here: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/governments-apprenticeship-cuts-an-act-of-vandalism-says-industry
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