Architectural mentor 4: PLACED Academy

The PLACED Academy offers creative programmes on the built environment to 14-to-18-year-olds from across the North West.

Describe who you are
We provide free-to-access programmes for 14–to-18-year-olds across the North West, empowering young people to shape the places in which we live, work and spend time. Participants have the opportunity to work with design teams on live projects, allowing them to have their voices heard in the design process.

What is the aim of your organisation?
We believe to create better places and enable greater equality in the design process, the key is working with young people. They need to be actively empowered in contributing to the design of our towns and cities, and to do this, we need a more diverse workforce. We work with a mix of young people, and prioritise creative learning as a tool to develop confidence, self-belief and a variety of skills – all things that have been slowly cut from the school curriculum. Our programmes are designed to break down barriers to professional careers and expose participants to a variety of conventional and non-conventional career routes.

Academy 2023-24 summer school group (photo: PLACED Academy)

Are you volunteer led?
I lead the academy and run every session with additional support from the wider PLACED team. We usually put call-outs to our ambassadors, and they support those sessions.

Do you partner with any other organisations and, if so, who?
We’ve got 32 funders this year at different sort of levels, with gold sponsorship being the highest – we run a special design session dedicated to that company. We’re working with councils, architectural practices, contractors, quantity surveyors and property companies. It’s quite a mix from the sector. The number involved grows every year.

What kind of programmes do you run and which has been the most successful?
Our 10-month-long core academy has been the longest running and has the biggest reach. Since 2019, we’ve had over 200 graduates and delivered over 100 sessions – 55 per cent of the young people involved have been female and 35 per cent from ethnic minority groups. We start with a four-day summer school and then the academy starts in September. Professionals from the industry also come in to advise on portfolios, while universities talk specifically about what they’re looking for.

The design sessions are live projects where participants can take on a real-life brief. They have a site visit and then, creatively input on large-scale projects.

At the end of the course, once they have 10 credits, they ‘graduate’ and there is the opportunity to apply for our alumni programme. Through this, we offer work experience, mentorship, events, talks and workshops. Some of our young people go through the programme and realise the built environment isn’t for them. But I think the skills that they learn and develop over the 10 months are hugely transferable.

Academy summer school day (photo: Fiona Finchett)

What has been your landmark achievement?
It’s the impact and reach. The relationships that we’re able to build, the skills that we’re able to develop with young people and the opportunities that we give them over that 10 months and further with the alumni programme are amazing. You really see our students’ confidence grow and skillsets develop, along with communication, collaboration and creativity.

What role are you filling that other outreach programmes aren’t?
What we offer is free-to-access, and this year we were able to offer free travel. This is about trying to reduce other barriers for young people – travel can be a big issue as we work across the North West.

What is the biggest change would you like to see in the architecture industry?
A diverse range of young people need to be actively heard, empowered and upskilled. Within the industry, we also need a more diverse workforce with greater efforts to increase representation.

What advice do you give your students who are thinking of pursuing a career in the built environment?
Get exposure to as many experiences as you can. The more informed you are, the better informed your decisions will be. Knowledge is power. That comes from experience so we try and provide as many opportunities as possible so our students can make educated choices. Who the hell knows what they want to be at 17? It’s taking those opportunities, so you can figure it out for yourself.

Questions answered by Matt Weir, PLACED Academy lead