Applied through
Licentiate APC (L-APC)
Commended
Whole Submission
Qualifications:
- MSc in City Planning & Real Estate from the University of Glasgow
My career:
I completed my undergraduate degree at Strathclyde University, studying ‘Product Design and Innovation.’ After which, I worked as a design engineer for five years. Over that time, I became interested in other design disciplines, investigating areas such as urban design and architecture. These areas led me to discover my interest in real estate and planning, subsequently pursuing a career change. I began my transition into planning by undertaking a Master’s in ‘City Planning and Real Estate Development’ at Glasgow University. Upon graduating, I joined JLL as a graduate planning consultant. I held a position within the Central London Planning team, where I worked with a diverse range of clients across both private and public sectors. I predominantly worked in Central London Boroughs on projects with heritage sensitivities, gaining experience across commercial, hotel, education, residential, and mixed-use schemes.
Since gaining my chartership, I have moved into a Senior Planner role at Rapleys.
APC tips:
Start early. As cliché as it sounds, give yourself plenty of time. The APC submission is a substantial piece of work and can become overwhelming when trying to complete it alongside working full time. Starting early gave me the opportunity to draft elements of my submission, then take a week or so off before picking it back up, which I found extremely helpful. The time away helped me to look at my submission with fresh eyes and identify areas that needed improvement.
View the APC as one coherent submission. The submission is comprised of the Practical Experience Statement (PES), the Professional Competency Statement (PCS), the Professional Development Plan (PDP), and the Reflective Journal. These should all interlink and read as one cohesive submission. Cross-referencing between the documents helps to demonstrate your experience and competency and how they feed into your development goals.
One case study is sufficient. The word limit for the PCS can be challenging, so I would suggest trying to select one case study you can focus on, rather than using multiple examples. Utilising one case study avoids the need to use precious words explaining the background context for a second or third example.
Use the competency terminology. When preparing your submission, use the terminology from the competencies and guidance in your own writing. This makes it easier for the assessor to understand where you have met a competency. Something I found helpful when reviewing my draft was self-assessing against the PCS Criteria Checklist to ensure each competency was easily identifiable and well evidenced.