Recently, our retail architects attended NCARB’s 2019 Licensing Advisors Summit in Minneapolis. With approximately 250 people in attendance, the conference, held every 2 years, offered a chance to network with other licensing advisors and learn how other architects and firms are supporting architectural licensure candidates on their journey towards licensure. The conference explores topics related to the future of the profession, preparing for the Architect Registration Examination®, and developing competency of tasks through the Architectural Experience Program®.
“I heard so many other licensing advisors talk about getting involved because of their own experiences with lack of support at their firms,” said Jeff Dalton, Sr. Associate with SGA Design Group. “While we’re always looking for ways to improve, hearing those stories made me incredibly grateful for the support we offer to emerging professionals at SGA.”
Licensing advisors from across the country shared ideas of how they help to support licensure candidates today. Advisors are focusing on increasing supervisor accountability and visibility for candidates on the path to licensure, as well as fostering more support within their peer groups. They want to make staying on track as easy as possible by creating more visibility into candidates’ testing schedules and making it easier to check out study material. Other ideas included sharing more personal experience stories, celebrating success and offering encouragement in the face of failure, and forming support groups to boost accountability for candidates.
We look forward to the next Licensing Advisors Summit in 2021. Attending this bi-annual conference is a great way for us to stay on top of all of the ways emerging professionals are being supported across the nation.