The Local Government Association (LGA) ‘Pathways to Planning’ aims to widen the pool of graduates entering planning roles in local authorities, as the scheme offers an exciting opportunity for councils and graduates alike.
image for illustration: Open Government Licence v3.0
The Local Government Association writes:
Pathways to Planning offers councils a new and creative way to diversify their planning teams’ talent pipeline. It is intended to build capacity within councils by bringing more graduates into planning teams now and fast-tracking their careers to fill gaps at every level in the future.
The programme launched in September 2023 and will see its first cohort of graduates start work in spring 2024.…
Pathways to Planning offers councils:
- marketing and recruitment of a diverse pool of candidates at no cost;
- a community of support for your graduate(s) and your team;
- a bursary to enable your graduate’s Master’s degree study.
Councils can select from either of the following bursary options:
- A bursary of £5,000 to support graduates undertaking the Chartered Town Planner (Level 7 apprenticeship) qualification. Councils can use the bursary to cover the cost of graduates’ travel to campus, fund field trips and other L&D, or cover the cost of back-filling your graduate’s role on their study days.
- A bursary of £10,000 to fund graduates’ course fees on RTPI-accredited Master’s degrees.
Councils in England are now encouraged to apply for the programme’s second cohort, which will recruit up to 120 graduates to start work in autumn 2024. Please read?our guidance document?to discover how the programme could work for your council before you complete the application form.
You can sign up to the next chort….We anticipate finalising the appointment of our Cohort 2 councils in spring 2024. Once you have signed up to the scheme, your council will be listed on our candidate-facing website, raising your profile among applicants. We encourage you to sign up by 31 March 2024 to secure your place.
