Length of Internship and skills expected:
In the UK Landscape Architecture students typically undertake a three year undergraduate degree, at some universities work for one year and then take a graduate entry final degree. There are also some graduate entry programmes (usually at Masters level) for students from other disciplines but these do not have an extensive work experience period during the degree. The “year out” of professional practice experience (internship is US usage) lasts usually from summer to summer for nine to twelve months. The academic year varies, but is usually from mid to late September until end of May or early June. This contrasts with the shorter semester length internships common in many continental European countries and so students from other countries should expect to work for at least nine months or a year. Periods of professional practice experience are usually found by the students themselves rather than being industrial placements by the university, therefore UK landscape architects expect to receive direct applications from students. However, some universities do organise such placements, this applies particularly to the postgraduate conversion programmes and some universities organise visits to offices as part of the studies. Because of the shortage of graduate landscape architecture employers are becoming more proactive and some are even considering US style short term internships for instance CABESpace (the central government agency promoting urban park use) began such an internship programme in 2005 ref http://www.cabespace.org.uk or email enquiries@cabe.org.uk for future years). Employers expect reasonable graphic and working drawing skills and CAD/digital design ability typically on AutoCad, Vector Works or Minicad. Apple Mac skills are used by a minority of architecture and landscape architecture practices, but are also useful.
Payments and Work Permits
The good news is that almost invariably students are paid a living wage during the year out, currently (2006) this might be a salary of £15,000 or more per annum depending on location and the student’s own experience. Citizens of European Union countries of course have the right to work. Students of non EU countries who are enrolled in a UK degree course also have the right to work for the year out in Britain under a student permit given the year out is part of their professional training (though there can be problems in getting the authorities to realize this). Students of non EU countries who are enrolled in overseas schools may have problems with work permits, however, the shortage of landscape architects in the UK makes this a good time to apply. For non European Union and European Economic Area nationals who have undertaken a Landscape Institute professionally accredited programme in the UK the TWES (Training and Work Experience Scheme) is appropriate, details are on the Home Office website:
http://www.ukimmigration.com/twes/uk_twes.htm
Note you should apply for two years from graduation because the LI requires two years membership prior to taking their professional practice examinations.
Note also that adverts and landscape architecture employers in the UK often refer to “Part 3″ or “Part 4″ qualified, part 3 means that you have completed a fully accredited programme (and can become an associate member of the Landscape Institute), while part 4 means you have successfully passed the Landscape Institute’s own professional practice examination. Curiously, the terms parts 3 and 4 refer to the Landscape Instiute’s own examination system that ended in the mid 1980s, the terms are anachronistic.
Contacts
Addresses of landscape consultancies can be found on the Landscape Institute’s web site http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/find_landscape_architect/
this is organised by region. Adverts for firms are to be found in the monthly Landscape and its sister periodical Landlines and recruitment advertising supplement (email subscriptions@l-i.org.uk and tel. 00 44 (0)20 7299 4514) published by the Landscape Institute which are available for sale at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) bookshop in Portland Place, London. Otherwise these magazines are available by subscription or in major reference libraries. Another publisher, the Landscape Design Trust, which publishes Green Places has a web site (www.landscape.co.uk/) with current vacancies. The subscription newspaper Building Design also publishes job adverts and also has useful adverts from recruitment agencies most of whom also deal with landscape architects (e.g. RIBA Recruitment, Hamiltons, Hays Architecture, etc.). Building Design can also be bought at the RIBA Bookshop. Recruitment agencies which specialise in landscape architects include Locri (www.locri.co.uk), Locate (www.locatepartnership.co.uk) W5 Recruitment (www.w5recruitment.co.uk) and Anders Elite (www.AndersElite.com) and it may be worth registering with such agencies; the successful employer pays a fee to the agency and it costs the applicant nothing.. The Guardian is the national newspaper most likely to have job vacancies particularly for government and local authority posts, refer to the Environment supplement on Wednesdays. Local Government News, a weekly, publishes local government vacancies.
The Landscape Institute’s website has a list of job vacancies (http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/). It may also be worthwhile checking on some of the Landscape Institute’s own branches’ web sites (listed on the LI website) because some also have lists of firms advertising or have pages where you could advertise yourself (e.g. the South East branch). Typically firms wishing to employ students write to schools of landscape architecture in the spring (for instance, at my own university, the University of Greenwich, we have a notice board with twenty or so such letters at Easter and forty of so by May, so if in the UK you could contact and visit local schools (the Landscape Institute web site has a list).
Groundwork Trusts are charitable organisations who promote and manage local authority parks and other open space and are said to be the largest employers of landscape architects in the UK, there are 45 local Groundworks Trusts nationally, there are lists of local trusts and also notices of job vacancies on http://www.groundwork.org.uk/jobs/index.htm Another national body is the Environment Agency http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
In the UK urban design is undertaken by landscape architects, architects and engineers and there are often job opportunities for landscape architects in firms practicing urban design. A good list of practices from the various disciplines undertaking urban design is to be found in Urban Design the journal of the Urban Design Group ref http://www.udg.org.uk. The Urban Design Group also operates a distribution mailing for urban design vacancies for its members.
How to apply:
As an employer one prefers to receive a postal application, with a covering letter, a short two page curriculum vita and A4 photocopies of drawing work (say six). It takes time to download attachments, or look at CD’s and to look at CV’s and often attachments cannot be opened and CD’s can break in the post. Do address letters personally to an individual in a practice and if going for interview research the practice as much as you can. Do not expect an acknowledgement to applications, most offices in the UK may have one or two students write in each week. That said currently in the UK there is a good supply of positions and good opportunities. It is usual to interview students so you would have to visit the country. Do not expect to find short term, semester-long exchanges, or for employment after just one year of a university programme and do not be disappointed if you are sometimes employed as a “CAD donkey”; if an office is paying you they will want to cover their costs.
The university year is from September until June so most graduating students apply in May and June. A good time to apply if you are coming from elsewhere is in September or October (August tends to be quiet) or at the beginning of a year from January until April when graduating UK students do not apply.
Robert Holden/ Maggie Roe 28.4.2003/ RH updated 3.3.2006