An ethos of developing and nurturing new talent

Julie Wilmer is a Director at tp bennett, a long time national sponsor of the Women in Property National Student Awards.  The practice is committed to supporting young people entering the industry and for encouraging a flexible workplace.

Why did you sponsor the WiP National Student Awards?

Women in Property has been a great resource for many of our designers over the years. The events afford an opportunity for wider industry discussions, widening industry networks and as a safe-space for practicing networking. Sponsoring the National Student Awards was the next logical step in our ongoing relationship with the organisation. 

You have welcomed a number of student finalists for work placements over the years.  What value do you believe this brings both to them, and your business?

From a selfish point of view being a judge in the awards gives us access to the best-of-the-best ahead of the rest of the industry! We’re always blown away by the quality of the nominees each year, any business would be lucky to have them. The study of Architecture is a strange one in that it differs quite significantly from the actual practice of Architecture. Because of this it is very important to get experience of work in practice at an early stage.   

tp bennett has a strong ethos of developing and nurturing young people in the industry.  Would you explain how this works, day to day.

In order to maintain a living, breathing, successful business it is imperative to bring in new young talent. So that they can learn from us, but also so that we can learn from them! We have both Level 6 & 7 apprentices and are an enthusiastic partner of Access Aspiration. We’ve had over 50 work experience students through the door this year alone. There are bursaries available to support students financially through university and their professional qualification and also an extensive in-house mentoring programme that is available to all.  

tp bennett has created a flexible workplace, what else do you believe is fundamental for great employee retention?  

We’re very aware that when you have your head down in a project weeks or months can go by in the blink of an eye. We are keen to create space for wider conversations and as such ensure regular 1-2-1s with all staff. These might only be 20mins but it’s an important ‘pause’ in the day-to-day project running to sit and reflect and to be heard. Targeted goals are incredibly useful to mark progress. We also make sure to celebrate the wins! Acknowledging the hard work of the team goes a long way. 

What do you do, to encourage a diverse and inclusive team?

Architecture is a team sport. We rely heavily on successful working relationships both internally and also with our external consultant teams. A diverse group of voices is integral to successful problem-solving. I believe strongly that you need to see-it-to-be-it. tp bennett has a number of women in very senior positions. Something that was notable at the time I joined 9 years ago. Having these figureheads spurred me on in my career and I hope that I am able to do the same for others.