At Grainge Architects we have always valued the importance of nurturing home-grown talent alongside the continued professional development of the whole team.
The studio environment we have created in our purpose-built offices at Exeter Quay is a direct response to the realisation that the whole team, and especially our younger colleagues, thrive upon the rich experience of working in a collaborative setting.
Direct mentoring, involving sitting alongside competent building professionals, is a tried and tested way by which less experienced members of the team can grow in their chosen profession.
Being able to both see and listen to more experienced colleagues engaged in all stages of the building process is hugely beneficial for the younger members of the team. This was reinforced during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown, when we heard of the worries and concerns of young people attempting to work from home in remote isolation.
Put simply, we believe that achieving a great workplace is as much to do with working with like-minded people as it is being in a friendly & nurturing environment. Our studio is a fun place to be; chatting to your colleagues, not just about work but also the thousands of other things going on in the world around us, is essential to our wellbeing.
As a practice approaching 30 years old we have helped numerous aspiring young architects and technicians gain the first steps on their way to professional practice. Some of these move on to to start their own practices, some being content to settle in the domestic scene working on extensions, conversions and the like, while others go on to work for larger practices working on important major schemes. Some choose to continue to progress in their careers within Grainge Architects beyond gaining their professional qualifications, and become valued long-standing members of our team.
We actively provide in-house training, which is essential to ensure that junior members of the team are appropriately trained to maintain our practice’s high standards of professionalism.
Currently we have several RIBA Part 1 & 2 Assistant Architects and a number of apprentice trainee technicians. Grainge Architects really value the contribution they all make to the practice; the learning process is definitely a two-way street and our younger staff often bring new ideas and challenge preconceived ideas we might have.
Team Bake Offs, lunch buffets, sports matches against other building professionals, Christmas quizzes, regular social events as well as summer dining al fresco at picnic spots on the quay all help to make Grainge Architects a really great place to work and a fun way to start your Architectural career.
At Grainge Architects we believe that it’s really important to generate a feeling of being part of a cohesive team or family rather than just doing a job.
