TPP and PDS go international

In 2022, the Transport Planning Professional (TPP) Partnership is launching its pilot scheme to roll out this unique transport planning qualification worldwide. The pilot areas will include Hong Kong; Australia & New Zealand; India; and the Middle East. TPP recruits on the international pilot this year will receive a substantial fee discount on the application fee, reduced from £475 to £200.

TPS launched a PDS pilot in India before the pandemic started which has been paused for 18 months. This is being revived and expanded at the same time as the TPP initiative, providing different pathways for transport planners both to develop their skills, and to have those skills recognised, in new and exciting ways.

Transport planning is becoming increasingly acknowledged throughout the world as a profession in its own right, and essential to solve the complex problems, both economic and environmental, which face a world emerging from the Covid pandemic. Doing this at the same time as addressing the climate crisis will require the breadth and depth of understanding such as that needed to complete the PDS and achieve the TPP. 

TPS Skills Director Keith Buchan said:

“Progress will involve everything from understanding and influencing individual’s travel behaviour at one end to co-ordinating transport and land use planning at the other. The social and distributional impacts of transport are also fundamental – how people access work, healthcare and education all depend critically on transport wherever you are. However, the problems we face such as Covid and climate change cross national boundaries – we will need all the knowledge and experience we can gather as transport planners with a grasp of both local and global impacts.

Transport planners are already working across the world but not always recognised as such. Raising skills and awareness of transport planning through internationally recognised development programmes and qualifications will lead to better outcomes for everyone at local, regional, national and global levels.  2022 will be an exciting year!”

Anyone interested in joining the international PDS and TPP pilots in the four areas – Hong Kong; Australia & New Zealand; India; and the Middle East – should contact the skills team through skills@tps.org.uk.