ARB publishes 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2024. 

The Annual Report, which was laid in Parliament, highlights how ARB has conducted its regulatory work as an independent professional statutory body.

Last year marked the third year of ARB’s five-year Corporate Strategy, with major developments including:

• Modernising initial education and training of architects – ARB continued with its transition to the new education framework. Under the new framework, all learning providers must now meet ARB’s new Standards for Learning Providers, and trainees will be able to qualify through more flexible pathways. ARB also began reviewing new qualification applications for qualifications which follow the new framework, and set up an Education Transition Reference Group to engage stakeholders throughout the change. In parallel, ARB launched an independent commission to identify barriers to high-quality practical experience.

• Delivering a new system of continuing professional development (CPD) for architects – ARB launched its new CPD scheme, fulfilling its duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to monitor architects’ training throughout their careers. The outcomes-focused scheme is designed to be proportionate, flexible and tailored to each architect’s practice, with an emphasis on improving competence and avoiding duplication.

• Continuous improvement to our regulatory processes – ARB consulted on a new Code of Conduct informed by independent research on public expectations and workplace culture within architecture. Alongside this, ARB progressed plans to align international registration routes with its updated competency standards, and signed a mutual recognition agreement with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

• Transforming our systems, processes and information technology – ARB advanced its digital transformation by migrating all on-premises servers and data to secure public cloud services, strengthening resilience and information security. To support hybrid working and collaboration, ARB moved to SharePoint and Teams, upgraded audiovisual systems, and rolled out further improvements to the MyARB portal, including easier payment updates.

• Investing in our people and building a positive and inclusive culture based on shared values and behaviours – ARB focused on creating a supportive and effective working environment to deliver high-quality regulation, successfully relocating its office to a modern, cost-efficient space at Gray’s Inn Road, and commissioning an independent review to benchmark pay and reward.

Some of the key facts and figures for 2024 include: 

• There were 38,981 architects on the Register at the end of 2024.

• 14 learning providers submitted 18 applications for qualifications that follow the new education framework.

• ARB opened 586 cases for the misuse of the title ‘architect’.

• By the end of 2024, following the signing of the Hong Kong Memorandum of Understanding, ARB was operating recognition agreements with counterparts in five different jurisdictions.

For more facts and figures about ARB’s role and work, and to read the full report, please visit the Year in Review webpage on the ARB website.