Greetings from the AIA California Office,

Regardless of your educational path, background or personal experience, as part of this profession you’ve undoubtedly experienced some form of mentorship throughout your journey. We all recognize architecture blends art, science, and practice, requiring a mix of both education and hands-on experience.

AIA CA believes in supporting the future of the profession and through the California Architectural Foundation (CAF), we’re launching the statewide California Architectural Practice Experience—an internship program called capX, matching professionals and students. This program strengthens the architectural profession across California; in a talent-short world, internships help identify strong future employees and integrate them into firm culture early on.

But we all know the decision to take on an intern or job shadower is a big one – they often don’t have advanced technical skills needed to jump into a project. They are still highly valuable to a small architecture firm by assisting in various supportive roles. Here’s five ways they can contribute to your bottom line:

1. Research & Analysis
   • Conduct case studies on similar projects.
   • Research materials, sustainability strategies, and design trends.

2. Administrative & Organizational Support
   • Organize project files and documentation.
   • Assist in scheduling meetings and taking notes.
   • Help maintain the materials library and office supplies.

3. Marketing & Social Media
   • Contribute to the firm’s social media accounts by posting project updates and design inspirations.
   • Create blog posts or newsletters about architecture topics.

4. Client & Presentation Assistance
   • Help prepare presentation boards and reports.
   • Gather inspiration images and references for design projects and organize concept sketches.

5. Site & Project Assistance
   • Accompany architects on site visits to document observations.
   • Take photos and notes for project progress.
   • Assist in organizing survey data.

By focusing on these tasks, interns can help free up your time, improve workflow, and contribute meaningfully to the firm’s operations while they gradually learn technical skills along the way. Providing guidance to the next generation can take time, but, overall, in terms of the bottom line for a firm and depletion of mental ram, this is a bottom line positive.

Want more information about the capX internship program? Visit this CAF page.

Focusing on the future health of the profession is just one more way AIA California – and CAF – is working for you.

Nicki