Town planning assistant
Town planning technician
Town planning assistants process applications, give advice about regulations and carry out design work and office administration.
Salary Range: £16,000 to £30,000
How to become a town planning assistant
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
University
You can do a degree accredited by The Royal Town Planning Institute before applying for a job as an assistant.
Subjects include:
- planning, environment and development
- city and regional planning
- urban planning and property development
More information
- equivalent entry requirements
- student finance for fees and living costs
- university courses and entry requirements
College
You can take a college course to learn some of the skills needed for the job, which may help when applying for a trainee position. Relevant courses include:
- Level 3 Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment
- Level 3 Diploma in Civil Engineering for Technicians
- T level in Design, Surveying and Planning
Entry requirements
You may need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T level
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Apprenticeship
You can get into this job through a town planning technical support advanced apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You’ll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
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Direct application
You’ll usually need GCSEs and A levels in subjects like geography, graphic design, business studies, English, environmental studies or economics to apply directly for jobs. Some employers may ask for a degree.
More information
Career tips
You may have an advantage if you have experience in:
- customer service
- administration
- computer-aided design (CAD)
- construction
- surveying
Further information
You can find out more about careers in town planning from The Royal Town Planning Institute.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You’ll need:
- knowledge of geography
- the ability to work well with others
- analytical thinking skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- customer service skills
- business management skills
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- maths skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
What you’ll do
Day-to-day tasks
Your day-to-day tasks could include:
- preparing reports for internal and external publications
- recording minutes at meetings
- building and managing technical libraries, filing systems and databases
- drawing up plans using computer aided design software
- carrying out data surveys, like traffic impact assessments
- supplying information and data to planners for applications
- recording the progress and outcomes of planning applications
- organising public meetings
- answering enquiries about application procedure
Working environment
You could work in an office.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could progress to team leader or move up to technician level. With further study, you could become a fully qualified town planner.
You could also set up your own business and offer consultancy in areas like planning law and sustainable design.