Jan Bessell is the President of the RTPI in 2026.

Planning makes a real difference. Planning shapes sustainable, resilient communities and addresses major urbanisation, infrastructure, cultural heritage and environmental issues – from United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, climate resilience to good design and real outcomes. This sense of purpose is central to making planning compelling.

Storytelling and positive visible role models are essential and Chartered Week and Careers Week are a great celebratory opportunity to profile Chartered Professionals.

At a time when young people need to feel empowered and able to have a real influence on the world and political environment around them, making a difference through planning by participation at the community level or through progression into a professional career is an opportunity not to be missed.

There is no one path to the profession. Last year, the RTPI received 1,290 submissions for Chartered status, many of whom will have found their way through a range of direct experiences and careers to get there.

I began my journey into planning through work experience as a teenage student at Liverpool City Council under the inspirational leadership of planner Mike Hayes. That opened the window on the world of planning and all its opportunities, taking me to Newcastle University, where I developed my early interest in architectural history and design and on to law and infrastructure.

From there, my career has taken me around the UK and internationally, with a wide professional background in planning from industry to mixed environmental and planning projects, into the UK Government and now as a Strategic Planning Advisor at Pinsent Mason law firm.

I’ve been involved in planning at all scales, from community initiatives and plans to major nationally significant infrastructure, across the existing and the new, urban and rural, public and private sectors and working collaboratively with many actors in planning and delivery.

This is not the typical career journey people might expect from a planner. But not every career in planning is the same and that is one of its strengths.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) recognises that planners enter the profession from a mix of pathways – that is why the RTPI offers four competency-based routes to Chartered membership, based on professional judgement, ethical awareness and practical experience. Planners are, in short, a diverse and eclectic group – and proud of it.

So, for all planners reading this, if you’re Chartered, I encourage you to celebrate your place as the gold standard of planning, and the significant work that it took to get there and make this visible.

And, to all planners – Chartered, RTPI members, or not – next week, take to social media and shout about your interesting and varied career and being the difference. Encourage the next generation to see the transformational opportunities and outcomes that being part of the planning profession bring, with planning being a true vocation and career of value, purpose and positive impact.