Pathways to Planning is a graduate scheme for the next generation of built environment professionals, fast-tracking the careers of talented individuals into an exciting, rewarding career. We recruit graduates from all backgrounds, universities, and degree disciplines; our aim is to reflect the diverse communities that councils serve. No experience needed – the scheme is designed to teach you everything you need to know to succeed.
Job types
GraduateInternship
Locations
London
Industries
Energy and Utilities
Degrees
AnyBusinessEconomicsIT
Pathways to Planning Insights Session
The team behind Pathways to Planning invite you to learn more about the scheme, hear from graduates and get exclusive interview tips – Watch back their Insights Session here!
What is the built environment?
The built environment encompasses everything around us in our towns and cities – homes, schools, shops, universities, and more. Planners make sure that communities have the built resources they need, the environment is protected, and our spaces are accessible.
More about the Pathways to Planning scheme:
Salary/Benefits
Minimum two-year work contract with a council or public body, £25-35,000 salary, generous package of annual leave, and flexible working is available at many councils and employers.
Eligibility
To apply, candidates will need to have a 2.1 undergraduate degree in any subject, completed by summer 2026, and the right to work in the UK.
Learning and Development:
Graduates will undertake a fully-funded master’s in a relevant subject, which will be chosen by their employer. Once trainees have finished their postgraduate study, they are on track to become fully accredited planners and then able to progress into more senior roles. Employers taking part have excellent career progression routes, and a vested interest in seeing their Pathways graduates succeed. Graduates are also mentored by senior members of staff within their department as part of the programme
Employer Partners
The scheme works with local councils and public bodies across England, who hire graduates as part of the programme and support their career development to become accredited professionals. As councils and employers continue to sign up, find the previous council partners at https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-to-planning/where-could-i-work.
Learning and Development
Graduates will start by completing a short Introduction to Planning piece of e-learning to acquaint them with the sector. They will then undertake a fully-funded master’s in planning through a master’s course or level 7 apprenticeship, with the support of their employing council. Once trainees have finished their postgraduate study, they are on track to become fully accredited planners and then able to progress into more senior roles with higher pay. Council planning teams have excellent career progression routes, and a vested interest in seeing their Pathways graduates succeed.
Graduate's Experiences
Jade, London Borough of Barnet
“Planning is really diverse and there are so many areas that you could branch into which is what makes it such an interesting career choice. A career in planning allows you the opportunity to make places and spaces better for people in the local community.
For me, my favourite speciality in planning is heritage and conservation. I think it’s fascinating to learn about our local historical buildings and establish how they can be sensitively and sympathetically developed. I would recommend planning as a career because there’s always something different to do and something new to learn. There is a great sense of achievement associated with being a town planner and it’s always really rewarding and inspiring to see the projects you’ve worked on come to life.”
Mark, from London Borough of Barnet was asked: Tell us about a project that you have worked on which has made a positive difference?
“I have worked on a number of projects for the Council’s social housing partners, a number of which have since been completed and occupied – resulting in the regeneration of poor-quality housing stock and the provision of new homes for a range of people who would otherwise be reliant on substandard accommodation, or forced to relocate.”
Nyasha, from Norwich City Council, was asked: What advice would you give to anyone thinking of working as a planner in local government?
“I would say it is a great opportunity and you should take it. Working as a Planner in Local Government allows you to see the difference your work has in the local area and it is also a great way to get to know the area you live.
There is more to planning besides dealing with planning applications, you also have the opportunity to get involved in other things such as Policy, Enforcement and Conservation.”
Simone, from Bristol City Council was asked: Can you tell us what makes Planning such an exciting career in local government?
“Working in Planning in local government means you’re working on the solutions of today’s big challenges: literally harnessing and channelling development so that it facilitates sustainable, healthy, and inclusive communities to flourish.”
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We aim to recruit graduates who are representative of the communities they will serve, which is why equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us. Regardless of background, anyone with a passion to make a difference in their communities as a planner can apply. We are particularly keen to encourage those who identify as Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic to apply, alongside women, as typically underrepresented groups within planning.
What have we done about it?
The Pathways to Planning team believes that the best way to recruit a diverse group of graduates is to involve a diverse range of individuals within the design of its recruitment and assessment process. We strongly encourage applicants who require reasonable adjustments to please state this on their application form. A member of our support team will then get in touch to discuss how we can support you in the application process. Information about candidates is held confidentially and will not impact their application in any way outside of our team making reasonable adjustments.
We analyse the outcomes of each stage of our assessment process using anonymised equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) data to check for any adverse impact on anyone with a protected characteristic within the assessment.
Competencies
To embed diversity in the heart of Pathways to Planning, we’ve designed the core assessment criteria – our competencies – in collaboration with the Young Planners Network and the BAME Planners Network, with a good gender balance between representatives. We have also had input from professionals with disabilities and have encouraged participation from individuals with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The finished competencies can be found on our website, with written descriptions for each. They are the only assessment tool that we use in our recruitment – we do not use candidates’ work experience, university of study, degree subject or any other measure to influence the application process.
Situational Judgement Test
The Young Planners Network, the BAME Planners Network and graduate trainees from Impact, the local government graduate scheme, have contributed examples of their lived experience on the job to form the backbone of our situational judgement test. The test is not timed, but if any candidates require it in a different format or have an accessibility concern about this assessment, our team are available to offer advice and provide any required alternatives.
Video Interview
Our video interview questions are drafted against our competencies and tested with a diverse group of graduates to ensure they are fair and clear. The interviews are assessed using a framework which has been designed by an occupational psychologist to ensure questions are marked in a fair and equal way regardless of a candidate’s background. Video interviews are marked as audio files only, to help remove unconscious bias from the process.
The video interview is a timed assessment, so we strongly encourage candidates with reasonable adjustments to get in touch with us at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure they are given extra time to complete this assessment. We provide extra time to read the questions, extra time to respond to the questions, and an additional opportunity to re-record your answer for all candidates who require reasonable adjustments.
Assessment Centre
Our assessment centre materials are designed by an external company of occupational psychologists in collaboration with a diverse range of industry experts. The professionals leading this work conducted four reviews of their work, each with a different diverse group. Those consulted included graduate planners, senior planners, members of the BAME planners network, BAME assessors, and current university students with a range of protected characteristics.
For cohorts 1 and 2, we have been able to provide coaching to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds in advance of assessment centres. We aim to provide this again for Cohort 3.
Council Interviews
Councils are responsible for the format of their interviews, but we provide them with best practice guidance. Councils will provide feedback on request following the interview process. We will not automatically pass any information about additional requirements to councils as this is held confidentially. We strongly encourage candidates with additional requirements to share these with councils in advance of their interviews so they can receive appropriate support.
For cohorts 1 and 2, we provided coaching to candidates from underrepresented groups in advance of their council interviews. We aim to continue this for cohort 3.
Job opportunities
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