Zulfiqar Ali, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

I chose planning as a career because I was always interested in the built environment, architecture and urban design. I undertook a short work experience placement at Sheffield City Council in the Spatial Policy Section and was exposed to some creative ideas of what Sheffield (the city I grew up in) was going to look like in years to come. I decided very early on I wanted to be part of that. Planning is a career that has allowed me to shape the environment I live in, and and at the same time giving me the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people at the heart of urban renaissance.

I did a BA (Hons) degree in Geography and Urban Policy Studies at Lancaster University. I was then fortunate enough to be sponsored as a trainee planner by the Positive Action Training Highway (PATH) National’s Tomorrow’s Planners programme. PATH National is a skills development agency that aims to address under-representation and inequalities of black and minority ethnic groups in management and the professions. PATH has a great grounding of developing people into a chosen profession and provides trainees with the necessary skills to achieve their objectives.

I got through the PATH recruitment process and secured employment with the Environment Agency, one of Tomorrow’s Planners hosts. I was placed within their Planning Section while I completed the RTPI-accredited MA in Town and Regional Planning at Leeds Metropolitan University. For my MA dissertation I researched the impact of design coding on sustainable development.

PATH supported me all the way and I was fortunate enough to meet some great people from that organisation. The Tomorrow's Planners programme allowed me to gain relevant experience in spatial planning with the ultimate goal of becoming a Chartered Town Planner. 

As I was coming to an end with my traineeship in 2005, I secured a full-time job as a Planning Liaison Officer with my host the Environment Agency. I now work for Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire. I am a Planning Officer working in the District Team of the Development Control Section. I work with some really talented planners and learn something new everyday. Wakefield is undergoing some major changes and it’s great to be part of that change. The work is different everyday with different pressures and challenges. You get the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, from small developers to people who are undertaking major projects.

My immediate goal is to gain more experience as a planner and start to deal with more major projects. I hope one day to practise my profession in Sheffield, my home city. Ultimately, I would like to work abroad or even run my own consultancy.   

Author:

Dushy Large

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

11-Jan-07

Categories:

Planning as a Career 

Sections:

Education & Careers

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