The goal of the AKF Institute is to provide internal and external members of the AEC industry with tools to power the future of our industry.

Building Strong Members of the AEC Industry

While AKF Institute provides opportunities for learning and development to our staff, we also strongly believe that learning should be shared with our clients and project partners. Key ways that we bring AKF Institute to others includes:

  • Client Trainings/AIA Courses – Our AKF staff deliver presentations to clients and at industry conferences. There is a catalog of courses that AKF has available (most also certified by AIA for continuing education credits), and we are happy to provide custom training courses in areas of interest to our clients. 
  • Emerging Leaders Academy – As part of our commitment to growing leadership in our industry, AKF has invited others to join our Emerging Leaders Academy program. This program is run annually starting in September and runs for six months. Topics include an in-depth look at leadership, how to develop a leadership vision and brand, how to be a better coach and mentor, how to handle difficult conversation or conflict, and team dynamics. If you are interested in learning more about this program or in participating, please contact Shannon Kaplan.

Building Strong Internal Leaders

AKF believes that learning and development are important for all employees’ continual growth. AKF Institute was originally created to ensure staff are given opportunities to attend quality training programs. All staff have access to various learning opportunities provided at AKF Institute including access to in-person, virtual, and on-demand training. Understanding that there are many different needs dependent on factors such as department and career path, AKF Institute is broken down into several academies:

  • New Hire Academy – essential training for all new hires starting at AKF.
  • Technical Academy – learning in our core areas of expertise. Includes opportunities to help staff grow in their fields, cross training to help staff learn more about what their colleagues do, courses in key technical software programs, and continuing education courses to help credentialed staff stay up-to-date on learning and credential compliance.
  • Project Managers Academy – training for our project managers from basics to advanced management topics.
  • Leadership Academy – learning to improve as a leader. This academy is further broken down into three additional academies: Emerging Leaders Academy, Leadership Development Academy, and Ownership Academy. This provides leadership coaching for our staff—those just starting to grow as leaders, all the way through continued education for our partners.
  • Business Operations Academy – education for our business operations teams in their areas of expertise, as well as in software programs.