We recruit high achieving graduates into successful careers in the built environment.
Applications for Pathways to Planning intake 2 are now open.
What is the built environment? Think of the world around you: the buildings, roads and green spaces that together create the places we call home. Places are planned, built and adapted by a skilled and passionate workforce with a wide range of skills and a huge amount of influence.
Working in the public sector as a place-maker gives you a significant role in shaping the built environment now and into the future. Pathways to Planning exists to find and equip talented individuals from all degree backgrounds to thrive in two critical built environment roles: planning and surveying. Our graduates envision, guide, and regulate the use of land and resources to achieve sustainable development.
If you want to play a key role in creating safe, inclusive and beautiful public spaces that promote wellbeing for people and the environment, Pathways to Planning is the perfect graduate scheme for you. By deciding and managing what is built, how it is built, and who it is built for, our graduates deliver real social, economic and environmental change for generations.
What do we offer?
- A full-time job. Graduates will work full time in a public body, such as a local council, and receive a starting salary of £25,000-£35,000, depending on location. The councils and employers offering roles through the programme for its fourth cohort will be finalised in spring 2026. Since 2023, we have worked with over 100 councils to offer over 200 roles across England and Wales.
- A fully-funded postgraduate degree. Employers give paid time off work to study for a fully-funded postgraduate degree. Graduates will attend lectures and seminars for approximately one day per week during term time. They will study on a course chosen by their employer. Most of the graduates recruited through intake 2 will study an RTPI-accredited part-time master’s degree in planning. There is no cost for this study for graduates taking place in the Pathways to Planning programme.
- A minimum two-year contract. All Pathways employers will offer a work contract that will match the length of your postgraduate study at a minimum.
- The chance to shape communities for the better. Our graduates play an active role in making decisions for their local areas from day one, and there are so many different ways your career could progress. Learn more about your built environment career.
Eligibility
We welcome graduates from all backgrounds and areas of study. Our only requirements are:
- A minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree in any subject, completed by Summer 2026
- You must have the right to work in the UK for the full duration of the programme (three years minimum, until August 2030). Unfortunately, Pathways to Planning and our partner employers are not able to sponsor visas.
We are looking for individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds who want to represent and deliver change for their communities. You don't need to have a related degree or any work experience, as our application process will measure your natural potential and uncover people who will excel in the field.
Any questions?
If our website doesn’t resolve your query, send an email to [email protected].
Funded by UK Government.
We are proud to be a Times Top 100 ranked graduate employer.