The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Cymru, the professional body for one thousand planners in Wales, will tomorrow launch its first nationwide campaign to promote planning as a career to young people. The new initiative, backed by the Welsh Assembly, is a response to recent evidence which suggests there is a national shortage of qualified planners across Wales and the UK. A demographic time bomb is also ticking with 40 percent of Welsh planners over the age of 50 years old.

The bilingual career materials, developed by RTPI Cymru, explains to young people the increasing role planning plays in everyday life from building new homes, protecting open spaces, tackling climate change and encouraging green energy sources. The initiative is targeted at two age groups: 9 – 11 year olds and 14 – 18 year olds.

Roisin Willmott, National Director of RTPI Cymru, said:

“Wales needs more qualified planners to shape the places we live, preserve our environment, and meet the challenges of climate change. RTPI Cymru’s bilingual career materials are a positive step towards raising the profile of planning as a career in Wales and the general understanding of the planning process.”

Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing said:

“Under the new Welsh planning framework we need to increase planning capacity so we can deliver positive places for people to live. First rate planning education and career guidance is necessary to boost the number of young people considering planning as a career. The Welsh Assembly Government welcomes the RTPI Cymru’s bilingual career materials initiative as a means to achieving this goal.”

A careers booklet, ‘Introducing you to Careers in Planning’ will help 14 – 18 year olds understand the extraordinarily different roles planners perform to see if a career in planning is right for them, from planning policy and strategy to enforcement. This will be supplemented by a range of on-line materials giving fuller profiles of the individual planners featured in the booklet.

For 9 – 11 year olds, an A4 information sheet entitled ‘What is Planning?’ has been produced, accompanied by an in-class worksheet and Teachers’ Notes. These materials have been written in line with the National Curriculum (geography) for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils.

The formal launch of the new careers materials will take place at the Cardiff Bay Environment Centre on Friday 28th November, with teachers and pupils from Trelai Primary School, Cardiff joining Jane Davidson, Councillor Nigel Howells from Cardiff County Council and RTPI President Janet O’Neill.

RTPI Cymru is grateful for funding support from the Welsh Assembly Government and Construction Skills Wales to produce the bilingual career materials.

ENDS

For further information contact please contact:Sophie Stapleton, RTPI Communications Manager, 020 7929 9479, 0787 0672 020 or Roisin Willmott, RTPI Cymru National Director, 029 2047 3923, 0781 392 9906.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The bilingual materials, printed in English and Welsh, are available electronically through RTPI Cymru’s website, www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_cymru from Thursday 27th November. To encourage the materials to be used in schools, RTPI Cymru through the Assembly Government’s Work Based Learning Pathways, will work with Sector Skills Councils – Asset Skills Wales and Construction Skills Wales - to train ambassadors to visit schools and colleges with the bilingual career materials to promote planning as a career option and to explain the role of planning to younger children.

Official photographs from the formal launch will be available upon request.

40 percent of the RTPI Cymru’s membership is over the age of 50 years old.

For more information on RTPI Cymru please visit www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_cymru.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
RTPI is a dynamic organisation leading the way in the creation of places that work now and in the future. We understand that just as people develop places, so places develop people. We are committed to the enhancement of our natural and human environment, using spatial planning to manage competing pressures on our built environments and the very real effects on our space. Through our members, we constantly seek to create areas and places in which people want to live and work.

As well as promoting spatial planning, RTPI develops and shapes policy affecting the built environment, works to raise professional standards and supports members through continuous education, training and development.

For further general information, visit the RTPI website at: www.rtpi.org.uk.

The RTPI, 41 Botolph Lane, London, EC3R 8DL is a registered charity in England 262865 and Scotland SC037841.

Author:

Sophie Stapleton

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

27-Nov-08

Categories:

 

Sections:

News & Media

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