Find answers for some of the most frequently asked questions about the Pathways to Planning programme.
If your question is not answered below, or you need any further information or assistance, please contact our support team at [email protected]
Eligibility to apply
Unfortunately, Pathways to Planning does not have the authority to sponsor visas. Our partner councils will not sponsor visas as part of this scheme. In order to apply, graduates must have the right to work in the UK for the duration of the programme (three years from 1 September 2025).
Pathways to Planning requires applicants to have a minimum 2.1 undergraduate degree by summer 2025. If you have any additional qualifications, including a master’s degree, this is completely fine.
We only consider education to meet the minimum entry criteria: we will not consider your university of study, degree of study or level of achievement once we have established candidates’ eligibility for the programme. The one exception is that this programme is not suitable for graduates who are currently completing a master’s degree in planning, as a fully funded part-time master's / Level 7 apprenticeship in planning will be provided as part of the Pathways to Planning programme. Graduates who hold educational qualifications in planning would be advised to seek support from the RTPI and/or employment opportunities directly with local councils.
If you are currently studying on any university course which is funded by the Department for Education, please be aware that you must have completed this course by 1 September 2025 in order to be eligible for Pathways to Planning. It is not possible to receive funding from two government sources for overlapping educational qualifications, and funding for the Pathways to Planning postgraduate study begins 1 September 2025.
Application process
Yes, all stages of the application process are required to ensure that all candidates are fairly and equally assessed against the same criteria, our competencies. We will make adaptations to the delivery of assessments where needed to support candidates with additional requirements, but each candidate will be measured against the same criteria at each stage.
If you have a disability, have received reasonable adjustments for a test/exam process in the past or believe that you are in need of reasonable adjustments in future, please get in touch with our team as far in advance as possible. We will have an individual conversation about how we can support you and make adaptations as needed so you have fair and equal access to the Pathways to Planning application process.
While we are a new graduate programme, we are building on the best practice of our sister programme, the Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme for candidates, and best practice from other public sector graduate programmes to ensure that our systems and processes provide the best possible experience to graduates who apply. Our experience of our pilot programme, Cohort 1, has shown excellent outcomes for candidates with protected characteristics. You can read more about the processes we have been through in designing and delivering our assessments on our EDI page.
Yes, once you have started the situational judgement test or the video interview, you can pause the assessment after you have answered a question or filmed your response to a question. You cannot pause either assessment with a question open on the screen. The situational judgement test is not timed, so we would encourage you to start the assessment when you know you have at least an hour of uninterrupted time so that you don’t put artificial time pressure on your assessment.
The video interview is a timed assessment and you cannot pause a question once you have begun. You will have the opportunity to re-record your answer to each question one time, and if you want to pause the assessment, you can do this after you have submitted an answer to one question before opening the next question.
If you have any additional requirements, which may require extra time to complete tests and exams, please get in touch with our team before you start the video interview so we can discuss reasonable adjustments. We provide 25 per cent, 50 per cent and 100 per cent extra time to candidates who require reasonable adjustments on the basis of their evidence and needs, along with other measures as needed.
You should be able to complete each assessment using a mobile phone with a camera and internet connection, a laptop with a camera and an internet connection, or a desktop computer with an internet connection and a camera.
If you have concerns about your access to the right technology, please get in touch with our team in advance of the closing date and we will find a solution for you.
Any local council can choose to take part in the Pathways to Planning programme, but as councils are responsible for paying graduates’ salaries and supporting their learning, not every council in the country will be able to offer jobs through the programme. Councils will begin signing up for our next cohort in November 2024 and will have until 11 April 2025 to take part. We will list councils on our candidate website for you to see as they sign up: please be aware that these are subject to change until mid April 2025.
All candidates who pass our assessment process (situational judgement test, video interview and assessment centre) will be given a profile for each council taking part in mid-April 2025. Candidates will then have the opportunity to rank the regions, and also the specific councils, that they would like to interview with. Our team will work to arrange the best possible fit between candidates’ preferences and councils’ availability. Our aim is to give you at least one interview with one of your top three preferred councils, though this does depend on the supply of places at your preferred councils. Most candidates will attend 1-2 interviews. We will not schedule you for more than three interviews without your consent. If you have extenuating circumstances, such as caring responsibilities or long-standing living arrangements like a multi-year rent agreement or mortgage, then we will take these into account when arranging interviews.
Qualification
Pathways to Planning councils will provide their graduate planners with either a part-time master’s degree or a Level 7 apprenticeship. Both routes are fully accredited by the Royal Town Planner’s Institute (RTPI) and both provide the same qualification at the end of the programme: a master’s degree in planning.
Some councils prefer to use a part-time master’s course as they are located near to an accredited course provider, or they like the flexibility that this qualification provides. Other councils prefer to use the more structured Level 7 apprenticeship, which comes at a lower cost to the council but also provides learners with additional support through their studies and after they have finished the master’s component, in achieving their individual RTPI accreditation.
Graduates will receive information about the qualification prior to interviewing with councils, and they will be supported by the council and the Pathways to Planning team in their application to the correct course once they have been offered a place by a participating council. For Cohort 3, this will occur by July 2025. This cohort will start their qualification in September 2025.
No, there is no cost for graduates taking part in the Pathways to Planning programme. Councils will receive a bursary from the Pathways team to help cover expenses relating to the qualification, and they have agreed to cover any remaining costs outside of this bursary. This includes course fees, travel to the university of study and any further expenses required by the course provider.
No, studying on an RTPI-accredited master’s course is an essential component of the Pathways to Planning programme as this qualification is essential for your career to progress as a Planner in local government. You will receive time off work to attend university classes, and support from your line manager in balancing work and study.
Councils
Yes, any council in England is welcome to sign up for the Pathways to Planning programme. Councils are responsible for paying the salary of graduate planners, providing a range of work experience, providing mentoring and support, and covering any expenses relating to graduates’ RTPI-accredited master’s study outside of the bursary provided. Not all councils have additional budget for these aspects of the programme, and some councils do not have any space within their planning teams. For these reasons, not all councils in England will take part in the programme.
Candidates applying to Cohort 3 who pass the assessment centre will receive a complete list of each council taking part in the programme. They will rank which councils they would prefer to interview with, so our team can take this into account when allocating interviews.
Councils outside of England are not covered by the government grant that funds the Pathways to Planning programme. As such, councils in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have to pay a fee to take part in the programme and are not eligible to receive the bursary funds. It is far less likely that councils within these regions will take part in the programme on this basis.
Candidates who have passed through our assessment process will be able to indicate which councils they would prefer to interview with, and they can declare any connection they have to these councils. This helps us to accommodate candidates with additional needs to remain in/move to a local area (such as caring responsibilities, mortgages and long term rental agreements). Councils’ availability to interview candidates (in terms of days/times for interviews and also the maximum number of candidates they can accommodate) will also dictate the chances that a candidate will be able to access an interview with their preferred council.
Councils taking part each choose how many candidates to hire, and the Pathways programme does have an overall cap which limits places across participating councils. Following the interview process, councils will make job offer(s) to candidates via the Pathways to Planning team. Candidates can choose to accept if/which offer they would like to accept, or turn down. If any spaces remain after the first round of interviews, the Pathways to Planning team will organise a second round of interviews where councils and candidates can accommodate this process.
No, Pathways to Planning involves a separate recruitment process to anything you would have been through to secure your current role. All candidates who apply to the programme will complete the same assessments and will have equal access to interview with participating councils. If you are already working for a council, you can apply to the Pathways to Planning programme but we cannot guarantee that you will pass the assessments and/or that you would gain an interview with your current employer, if they are taking part in the Pathways to Planning programme.
If you are already working in a planning team but are looking for support in funding your master’s studies, we would strongly encourage you to visit the Royal Town Planning Institute’s website or to explore a Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship with your line manager at work.