Article written by Damian Holmes – Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture
Every practising landscape architect needs training, whether as a graduate or a Principal. Training at a landscape architecture practice can happen in different settings and formats. Your practice can provide training through informal sessions or formal classes you develop, but most importantly, it needs to happen regularly.
Providing training improves employee retention, builds competency, reduces risk, and can speed up development, especially for graduate team members. It requires an investment by the practice, but it can greatly improve the team’s expertise and skills, improving design outcomes.
Some landscape professional organisations require continual professional development (CPD) to maintain registration and provide formal classes or conferences to achieve the required points. This is one of the easiest ways for your practice to provide training; however, you can also provide in-house training.
In-House Training
There are several options to develop in-house training, including:
Modules using expert knowledge to develop sessions on a particular broad topic that are provided as sit-down sessions that can become a module within a larger program. Your in-house experts can develop this training on topics such as practice standards, design process, sustainable design, planting design, construction technology, etc.
Outside Experts work with an expert to develop training sessions that are held once or twice a year. This usually focuses on a particular expertise, including plant identification, horticulture, fabrication, project management, contracts, risk management, procurement, etc. These can also be rewarding for the experts, as they get to share their knowledge and interact with different levels of expertise and experience within your practice. Developing this training can require investment, but it will also draw on expert knowledge and experience.
Known as a masterclass, lunch & learn, or Ask Me Anything (AMA), it is a more informal way to undertake training, where a more senior or knowledgeable person or people provide insights and knowledge about their area of expertise in a regular one-on-one or group session. The format is more question-and-answer, with a few points (photos, plans, etc.) and then open-ended questions to start the session; then it becomes more about knowledge-sharing that draws on experience through examples and stories rather than a formal presentation.
Design Crits provide some of the best opportunities for team members or whole practices to learn about analysis, narrative, process, and design. Analysing, discussing, marking up, prototyping, and working through design problems can help team members develop their problem-solving and presentation skills.
Mentor Workshops (Senior with one-on-one or group) reviewing design, process, or management techniques (client/consultant) provide opportunities to share and learn about landscape practice along with professional development.
Site or Study Tours are a great way to explore your practice’s work or your competitors’ work and learn how things come together during construction or in the final built form. They can also help people understand the stories of how a project came together, the design narrative, and the wins and losses during the project. This also provides the opportunity to learn about coordination with clients, consultants, suppliers and contractors. You can also undertake informal Post-Occupancy Evaluations or Construction Reviews. Some of your suppliers (nurseries, site furniture suppliers, etc.) may also allow tours, which can also provide opportunities to learn about products
Vendor Presentations facilitated by a product supplier (furniture, lighting, hardscape, nursery, etc.) can provide valuable training on a particular product or range. However, it is also important to ask the vendor for industry insights beyond their product, such as how to specify products or current legislative changes affecting them.
Off-site sessions or Seminars can involve the team leaving the office and going to a hotel seminar room, education facility or other place that is not the office, full of distractions. These can also involve an overnight stay, including team building and socialising so team members can get to know each other.
You may have someone in your practice organise and run the sessions or opt for an external facilitator so all team members can focus on the session information and learning.
External & Specialised Training
External training options include landscape conferences, seminars, and online webinars. Some of the various options include:
External workshops allow trainees to improve a particular skill (BIM, Graphic Design, Engineering, Project Management, new software); these are often structured or multi-day events. It may be beneficial to have one person take the course before sending multiple people, as they can be too general for designers or too specific for another profession.
Continuing Professional Development can include conferences or seminars that are hosted by a professional organisation. These can provide more focused training for landscape architects on planting, construction, etc. They also offer the opportunity to see new products and services if they include an expo or trade show.
Conferences also let your team network and gain insights into current business conditions, market changes, and how competitors are developing.
Training should be an integral part of your team’s development and is best tracked by competency level (graduate to senior to associate) to allow for more transparency around career development. Also, incorporate your professional organisation’s continuing professional development framework (Part 1, registration, etc.) to help team members achieve professional recognition.
Developing a training program for your practice does not require a large budget and tracking software. You can develop your own training using the resources and expertise within your practice. To start, conduct a simple survey of your team members to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and expertise. Use the results to identify development needs and prioritise accordingly. Then develop a training program based on in-house knowledge and identify where you need to fill gaps with external experts or external training. Then you can start developing a central knowledge base, libraries, and training sessions across practice areas (design, production, construction, management, etc.).
Whether you provide in-house or external training, it is an important part of every practice and requires strategy and planning to ensure it adds value, happens regularly, and improves your team’s skills and expertise.
Article written by Damian Holmes – Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture
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