Professional Development
Professional Development for Transport Planners
TPS is committed to promoting the professional development of transport planners, to
- strengthen their careers
- enhance the standing of the profession
- make transport planning an even more attractive career choice.
To provide those working in transport planning with a structured training scheme, the Society has prepared the TPS Professional Development Scheme.
Based on National Occupational Standards (NOS) for transport planning, prepared by the Society with GoSkills (the Sector Skills Council), the Scheme has been designed to meets the needs of: transport planners, whether recent graduates, career changers or those with an established career. It requires those following it to obtain – or to have the knowledge already - that underlies both transport planning and management, as well as experience of work in a wide range of transport planning activities with an ability to supervise others working in some.
The Scheme is comprehensive and will meet the needs of many transport planners and their employers without modification. However, it can also be modified to meet the particular needs of individual transport planners or employers, for instance by the inclusion of the specific corporate requirements of an employer.
The time required for completion of the Scheme will vary between individuals, depending on their knowledge base at entry and the frequency with which they are able to move between tasks, to gain the necessary breadth and depth of experience. Most will need about five years to complete the Scheme, although it might be possible to complete it within more quickly for those with exceptional opportunities to gain the necessary breadth and depth of experience.
Those who have satisfactorily completed the TPS Scheme, and also have the necessary academic qualifications, should have most of the competences required:
- for the Transport Planning Professional qualification, provided by the Society together with the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation.
- for Chartered membership of CILT.
And for those with an accredited degree, wishing to be a Chartered Engineer (CEng) should have most of the required competences, although they are likely to need additional skills in engineering principles and health and safety.
The TPS Scheme is available under licence to any Stakeholder member of the Society. It is also available to Corporate members in the private sector with a total staff of no more than 20 and to any local authority that is Corporate member.
Organisations that have adopted the TPS Professional Development Scheme
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TPP and Designated Members of TPS
Members of the TPS, who are not also members of CIHT and are awarded the TPP qualification are required to become Designated Members of the Society. As with all those awarded the TPP qualification, they are required to maintain at least 25 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a year and to comply with either the Society’s of CIHT’s Code of Professional Conduct. The Society has a CPD guidance document, available by clicking here, and a Code of Professional Conduct, available here.
Further Information
For a downloadable document providing a brief overview of the Professional Development Scheme please click here and for one providing a detailed overview please click here.
For answers to some frequently asked questions about the TPS Professional Development Scheme and the TPP qualification please click here.
Further information can also be found in the Spring 2008 edition of All Change.
For the 9th May 2008 Planning Magasine article on the TPS professional standards and development scheme click here.
Further detail on the TPS Professional Development Scheme is also available from info@tps.org.uk.
