Councils can sign up to hire planners to start work in September 2025, via the LGA’s ‘Pathways to Planning’ graduate scheme. This provides marketing and recruitment services, and a bursary of at least £5,000 to enable graduates’ postgraduate study. There are no fees for councils, but they must pay each graduate a minimum salary of £24,000. The scheme intends to provide a number of bursaries, allocated on a competitive basis, to cover all or part of a graduate planner’s salary.
- See the Pathways to Planning website for more information.