Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), Australian Council of Built
Environment Design Professions (BEDP) and the Department of Housing &
Works
INTERN PROGRAM FOR ARCHITECTURAL GRADUATES
Introduction
This paper provides an overview of the Intern Program (established by the RAIA under the auspices of the Australian Council of Built Environment Design
Professions) to assist architectural graduates make the transition from university graduates to competent practitioners through a series of work placements and training courses over a two year period. The first Intern Program commenced in
February 2007.
The Australian Council of Built Environment Design Professions (BEDP) is the peak organisation representing over 96,000 architects, engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, lighting designers and landscape architects throughout Australia and over
9,000 professionals in WA. As BEDP is the peak organisation, members of BEDP are the various professional organisations representing each profession. For architects, the primary organisation is the Royal Australian Institute of Architects
(RAIA).
Following discussions with the Minister for Housing & Works and senior officials from
DHW, the Department agreed to provide financial support for the appointment of a part time administrator for the intern program. In addition, DHW agreed to provide work placement support within the Department of Housing & Works for progressive rotations of six month duration and to contribute to some of the training costs for the interns selected for this program.

Background
Both the Australian Council Built Environment Design Professions (BEDP) and the
RAIA believe that much can be done to assist recent graduates successfully make the transition from University studies to competent practitioners in an architectural practice. Since the cessation of the Public Works Department (PWD) cadetship program in the
1980”s, there has not been a structured training program to assist young graduates gain the skills and knowledge required to make the transition to become a competent member of a project team.
While not recognised as a formal training program, the cadetship programs of the
WA PWD provided the opportunity for many graduates to learn the skills necessary to become an effective member of a project team through a structured series of work placements aimed at providing the necessary experience to gain registration.
As the State Government no longer employs design architects, the BEDP and the
RAIA jointly agreed that one way in which recent graduates could be assisted to make the transition to productive employment was through the development of an internship program where graduates could be placed in private sector firms to undertake a variety of work placements while also receiving training in the skills required to adequately undertake projects, operate an architectural practice and work within a project team.

RAIA/BEDP/DHW Intern Program

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Overview of the Intern Program
The intern program runs for approximately two years for each graduate. During this period, they participate in three job placements of approximately six months with private sector firms and one six month period with the Department of Housing &
Works. A mentor is assigned to each graduate for the duration of their internship.
During the program, the cadets will receive the appropriate award rate for remuneration paid by each employer for the six month placement. The private sector job placements would normally attempt to offer a range of experience in project types, phase of project and size of firm, so that the graduates gain the range of
experience