Inspiring the next generation of Landscape Architect

We are committed to inspiring new Landscape Architects into our sector. In furtherance of this commitment, we recently dedicated a morning to engaging with students, discussing our passion for Landscape Architecture, its pivotal role in addressing the climate emergency, and providing guidance on the trajectory to becoming a professional in the field. It was a great event, and great to meet the students first-hand. We are now planning to visit other school career events in the coming months.

Why do we give our time to these events? The investment of our time in these events is driven by a concern for the profession’s persistent pipeline crisis. This concern was officially acknowledged by the UK Government in 2019, prompting the inclusion of Landscape Architecture in the Skills Occupation List (SOL).

The Landscape Institute’s report ‘Skills for Greener Places’ published in 2022 tells us the situation has not improved. Some of the main findings include:

• Over 50% of businesses in our sector have a hard-to-fill vacancy, and businesses are having to turn down contracts to make places greener.
• The workforce is older and whiter than the UK average. An ageing workforce will make skills shortages worse in the medium term.
• Skills gaps exist across all parts of the UK, but are particularly acute in the public sector and outside of the large cities – which will be exacerbating regional inequalities, particularly around well-designed places.

We all need to support our Institute’s #chooselandscape campaign in whatever way we can.