The Future for the Profession

The Society is becoming increasingly concerned about:

• the impacts of the staffing cutbacks on the ability of the profession to meet future needs
• the impact of the new university funding arrangements on Masters level education for transport planners
• the impacts of the immigration cap and new visa arrangements

both individually and in combination, and it is also seeking to:

• identify the primary skills likely to be needed of transport planners in the medium term, given new policy initiatives, including localism
• consider the case for the development of a transport planning apprenticeship scheme and related qualification, and
• gain an understanding of the possible future shape of the industry

To help us address these matters, we starting off by holding a 'High Level' Skills Seminar on 13 June in which about 25 senior representatives of the private and public sectors and academia will be participating.

Building on the information obtained through the seminar, the Society plans to develop a 'Green Paper' through which it will identify how the profession might develop over the coming years, and actions which might need to be taken to ensure we have the skilled resources necessary for the preparation and delivery of policies, plans and projects for travel and transport.