City Shaper for businesses

I am a resident  

Are you an employer in the built environment sector, able to host a 10-week internship?  

City Shaper is a new talent development programme preparing motivated residents for entry-level careers across the built environment.

In partnership with The School of Building, the programme will include an 8-week, part-time bespoke course to help enhance confidence, knowledge, and multidisciplinary skills in the sector. This course is followed by access to 10-week paid internships.

We are seeking employers to host interns, deliver specialist input, and help shape the next generation of diverse industry talent. We’re looking for employers across the spectrum of businesses that make up the built environment; architecture, construction, engineering, developers, planning or heritage consultancies, design, real estate, craft and industrial manufacturing, wholesale and retail and retrofit specialists.;

Our ask from employers who plan to host an intern:  

• Host an intern for the duration of the ten-week placement. For SMEs, 50% funding is available for intern salaries. We ask all employers pay London Living Wage (£14.80/hr).

• Provide a supportive environment and dedicated manager, and real project opportunities to develop the intern’s skills.   

• Consider interns for a permanent role post-internship.   

• Provide feedback and a reference for the intern upon completion and possible follow up mentoring to support career progression. 

The support that LIFT will provide to an intern: 

• Provide relevant training prior to internship placements  

• Provide a supportive environment and dedicated manager, and real project opportunities to develop the intern’s skills.   

• Provide additional pastoral support to interns while on placement.   

• 50% funding for interns salaried for small businesses.   

Programme and Timeline:  

25 May – 17 July - Training  

Intensive eight-week part-time course to accelerate people’s exposure, knowledge and skills in the Built Environment (working to industry standard briefs and to build employability and soft skills.) The course will be taught in the historic West Caledonian Library aiming to be immersive and well rounded with workshops, masterclasses, site visits and 1-2-1 mentoring.

The City Shaper curriculum covers key topics shaping the sector today, including:

• Sector Awareness

• Retrofit & Reuse

• Exposure to Technologies & Tools

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Modelling

• AI in the Built Environment

• Methods & Materials

• Heritage & Conservation Spanning design, construction and the wider built environment sectors.

September – November – Internships  

We want to work with business across a broad spectrum of the built environment to reflect the broad and cross disciplinary nature of the course. We aim for the internships to start in September – with employers invited to meet and interview course participants in July.

Can't offer an internship, but still want to help? You can still support the City Shaper programme by:

• Offering 8 weeks of mentorship to student(s) in the programme (1 hr/week commitment, for 8 weeks)

• Delivering a 1-hour masterclass on a case study, tool, technology, or subject. Our team can align your expertise with the units and desired learning outcomes

• Delivering or supporting a targeted skills workshop

• Arranging a site or office visit

Ready to get involved? Take the next step and get in touch with our team.

Our team would be delighted to explore how your business can contribute to our programme and help cultivate the next generation of practitioners. Whether through mentoring, delivering a masterclass or tour, or offering an internship, every form of involvement adds meaningful value to our participants’ experience.

Get in touch  

Find out more about the programme and register your interest in taking part by emailing us here.