National Associates Committee

Jonathan Taylor's comments are right on from my perspective. AIA has not done a very good job over the years of paying attention to the preparation and training of practitioners by bringing them to both recognize their critical responsibilities when they hire an intern architect along with the accompanying serious obligations they undertake to the intern architect and the profession for the professional and technical development of that person. This is to me very much an ethical problem. An intern should be a valued employee and an obligation willingly accepted into any practice setting. The future of our profession depends upon the successful development of the next generation of architects. The formal education establishes a foundation but the maturation process occurs in the practice setting under what should be the sensitive and understanding guidance of competent professionals. After 40 years in the profession and both teaching Professional Practice as well as serving as a mentor of a number of young architects I see some key problems. We (AIA and NCARB) need to make a concerted effort to take collective steps within all levels of the profession to overcome the real deficiency which occurs within the practice setting. I have had more than just a few practitioners tell me, as mentor to their intern, that meeting the IDP requirements is the intern's problem and not theirs. This is appalling to me. But it happens too frequently to be just coincidental. It is altogether too representative of clear evidence of a deficit in the preparation and training of practitioners. Younger practitioners seem to "get it". Many who have been in the profession longer don't. There is a generational divide. We must recognize that many intern architects are employed in small firm settings. And small firm principals are often stretched. That to me is not an excuse. I was a small practitioner my whole career until my recent retirement. I have no ready answers as to how this problem may be solved. I know that it won't be easy but we must actively work on the matter in a collegial manner.

I agree that there is a generational divide. My supervisor and mentor never had to report training units and keep up with constantly changing rules attached to NCARB and IDP. There are resources online and an appointed person in each state that anyone can contact anytime for information if there is a question or concern.

It is not an employer's responsibility to make sure that an intern fills out forms and reports training units. The employer provides the intern opportunity to experience all aspects of the field of architecture and to give interns a chance to earn training units in each area. It is the responsibility of the intern to know what he/she needs to experience. If an intern is not able to obtain the needed experience with their current employer, then it might be time to seek a change. Interns must take charge of their careers and goals and ask their employers for specific opportunities in order to fulfill the needed training requirements.

Each person holding an NCARB record number has a resource book (online or hard copy) explaining in detail all that is needed to fulfill IDP training units.

We cannot hold our employers responsible for our lack of reporting training units on a consistent basis. We also cannot expect our employers to know everything about NCARB and IDP. Each state has an IDP coordinator that has up to date information on everything NCARB and IDP.

Your State IDP Coordinator is a great resource for information.

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