Continuing our long history of being recognized for our support of Emerging Professionals, our firm was again selected as an Emerging Professional Friendly Firm by the American Institute of Architects Central States Region for 2017. The AIA Central States Region (CSR) is composed of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. An Emerging Professional (EP) is defined by the AIA as a student, recent graduate or architect licensed within the last 10 years. This award is given to firms who display an outstanding commitment to the development of their EP staff.
As of the date of the award, SGA Design Group employed 21 EPs who represent just under 25% of our firm. We make it a top priority to hand-select, train and empower our employees. Some of the benefits we provide include payment of all NCARB and AIA annual fees, study materials, and paid time off to take the Architect Registration Examination. To enhance NCARB’s AXP (Architectural Experience Program, formerly known as IDP), we have developed an in-house mentoring program which pairs an emerging professional with a more experienced architect.
Shekoofah Khedhri, a recently licensed architect, says “I joined SGA because of their reputation for providing exceptional services to well-known clients. I stayed because of the firm’s commitment to the professional development of their employees.”