Here at WWA we are keen to support our colleagues in their career progression and personal development. Recently Alex Glasse has signed up to the Pathway to Chartership – this is the process through which Landscape Architects can become Chartered Members of the Landscape Institute (CMLI).

Becoming a chartered professional is a real commitment, so we are happy that Alex is ready to take on the challenge. The process requires active learning, reflection, and continual assessment through quarterly submissions. Once Alex has a gained enough knowledge and experience, he will be tested in a final oral exam!

Alex will be mentored internally, and as eight of our staff are chartered, we’re sure there will be plenty of advice on hand. Alex will be keeping us updated of his experiences on the pathway through a series of posts, read the first of his updates below.

Hi everyone! As part of a new series of posts, I am going to be sharing my journey to becoming a CMLI, via the Pathway to Chartership process.

If you don’t know me, my name is Alex. I graduated with a BA in Landscape Architecture and Planning from the University of Sheffield in 2018 and have been working for WWA since then.

The reason I want to embark on the pathway is to take my career to the next level, and I am aiming to complete this process as quickly as possible to move onto the next challenge.

My route on the Pathway has been a little different to most. I opted to gain experience through work experience at WWA rather than returning to uni to attain a masters. For me this was an easy decision: you need 3 years of work experience and an undergraduate degree to be able to get onto the pathway and I find I work and learn best in real world situations.

This is my first month being a candidate on the pathway, and it’s been action packed with:

• Finding a mentor
• Having an initial review to assess my knowledge
• My first submission

So far it has been smooth sailing, but I am yet to receive my supervisor’s feedback, so I know the challenge has barely begun…