Arc. Joseph E. Hayford (left) hands over a certificate to an inductee
The Architects Registration Council (ARC) has held an induction ceremony to accept 43 new Architects onto the standing Register of the Council after undertaking the Council’s Professional Practice Examination (PPE).
An important national assignment of the ARC, the Induction Ceremony bridges the academic and professional life of every architect. It climaxes six years of academic qualification at the university, a minimum of two years post-qualification coaching and apprenticeship under a qualified senior architect, structured seminars and tutorials and finally professional examination, with a minimum pass mark of 60% to gain state licensing.
Ninety-four candidates registered for this year’s PPE, out of which forty-three passed. Mr. Maxwell O. Affram was adjudged the Overall Best Candidate.
At the 16th Induction Ceremony held last Thursday in Accra at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, under the theme: The Architect, a Vital Partner in Development, the Council described the event as reinforcing its commitment to its statutory mandate of promoting the highest practicable standards in architecture and the protection of the general public from quacks.
Registrar of the ARC, Mrs. Stella N.D. Arthiabah who disclosed this added that the ceremony rekindles the pride of the nation’s ability to provide for its people, the human capital required for providing professional architectural services and to give the public safe assurance that its architects are well equipped and approved to work.
Mrs.Arthiabah stressed that as promoters of the profession, the ARC is constantly adopting measures that will make the Ghanaian architect competitive in current trends. “One of such measures is the reviewed professional practice training syllabus, registration process and development of the practical training guide into a handbook to be easily carried about as companion to probationers and principals throughout the practical training period” she said.
The Deputy Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, Sampson Ahi who represented the Sector Minister as special guest said Government in a bid to support building environment professionals to practice effectively has developed and reviewed a number of policies, regulations and Bills. Notable among them, he mentioned, is a National Housing Policy to provide adequate, safe, secure, decent and affordable housing; a bill for the establishment of Real Estate Authority to regulate real estate agency practice; a draft Condominium Bill in view of increased development of high rise buildings and its implications for shared ownership of common areas.