A young Ipswich architect has become the first in the country to reach the highest possible apprenticeship level - and is encouraging other Suffolk youngsters to follow her path.

Lily Green, 26, worked for four years to reach Level 7 Architect Apprentice - hailed by her sponsors as "an amazing achievement".

She said: “I am absolutely thrilled and very relieved to have achieved the Level 7 Architect Apprenticeship. The last four years of hard work and sacrifice, bolstered by the fantastic support and sponsorship from Ingleton Wood, has paid off.

“I am proud to be among the first practitioners in the UK to become a qualified architect through this route.

"I was assigned a practice mentor who motivated and challenged me while it was incredibly useful to harness the expertise of the wider team at Ingleton Wood.”

Lily's achievement – the equivalent of a master’s degree and the highest possible apprenticeship level – has been highlighted as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2021.

The four-year apprenticeship involves gaining the knowledge and skills defined within architecture specific levels which must be achieved to become registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

It was launched in June 2018 and Miss Green was among the first cohort in the country, studying at London South Bank University

Miss Green, admitted she found transitioning to remote learning to complete her apprenticeship “a difficult challenge” at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It was a sudden change from spending one day a week on campus in London to everything being remote,” she said. “But I soon found I could use the usual commuting time to fit in more study time which became hugely beneficial when completing the course.”

Miss Green said: “Apprenticeships are a great route into architecture and the construction industry. You earn a full-time wage while studying and gain a diverse range of up-to-date practical skills and knowledge to future-proof yourself.

“There are so many benefits and I really do urge young people considering their next step or anyone thinking about a career change to look into the opportunities available to them.”

David Cresswell, Partner at East Anglian property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood said Lily had shown "a tremendous amount of self-discipline and dedication to achieve the very demanding new degree-level qualification".