Professional Development Scheme (PDS)

Progressing a professional career from entry level requires a structured development pathway tailored to each individual’s experience and qualifications. Our PDS supports early‑career professionals in building the breadth and depth of technical and generic competencies expected of a Transport Planning Professional (TPP) qualification. Each trainee is paired with a TPS‑trained mentor who provides guidance, professional support, and assessment throughout their journey toward the TPP qualification.

TPS NZ is supporting organisations across the country to establish the PDS. Over the past year, a pilot programme was undertaken to raise awareness of the scheme, generating strong interest from organisations including NZTA, WSP, Auckland Transport, Beca, Stantec, AECOM and Arc Advisory.

With TPS UK, we introduced improvements including an introduction session for new candidates and PDS mentor training to strengthen support across participating organisations.

We are also pleased to acknowledge the milestone achieved by Rhiannon Fechney (NZTA) and her mentor Sian Marek (NZTA), who became the first candidate in New Zealand to complete the PDS. As Rhiannon noted:

    This will definitely help me shape my development going forward
to continue working towards the TPP qualification.

Webinar

Watch the latest webinar introducing TPS for potential new trainees:

If you would like further information on the TPS PDS, please e-mail newzealand@tps.org.uk.