The 40 participants in the UK’s first Transport Planning Apprenticeship, which started in October last year, will now be able to join both the Transport Planning Society (TPS) and the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) free of charge.  TPS is also organising meetings with the apprentices when they undertake their block release studies, which are provided by the Leeds College of Building with assistance from the Leeds Institute for Transport Studies.  The scheme was developed by a group of employers with support from TPS and CIHT and is completely compatible with the TPS Professional Development Scheme (PDS).   At the end of the course, successful apprentices will achieve a Level 3 qualification and will be able to move straight on to the PDS which in turn can help them achieve the professional qualification for transport planners, the Transport Planning Professional (TPP).

Keith Buchan, TPS Director for Skills said:

“The Transport Planning Technician Apprenticeship is an exciting new initiative aimed at attracting talented young people into a career as a transport planner. It will provide an excellent grounding for anyone, whatever their background, entering the profession, and leads directly into the industry standard TPS Professional Development Scheme and the TPP.  This Spring we look forward to recruiting the next cohort of young transport planning apprentices.”