In 2017, we became part of the Royal Town Planning Institute Trailblazer Group as the only SME consultancy directly involved in the process of promoting the profession through apprenticeships.
We strongly believe that apprenticeships can be the ideal route into planning for many. It allows individuals to learn on the job and gain essential theoretical knowledge at the same time.
Already this week, we’ve featured Charlie and Amy – who came from different professional backgrounds and chose the apprenticeship route.
Today, we’re taking a look at Sam’s apprenticeship story.
Sam is our youngest apprentice at Edgars and joined us in September 2018 as a Planning Technician, and is currently undertaking the level 7 element of his Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship.
Over the last four years, Sam has worked hard to develop his skills and further his understanding of the planning industry. In recognition of his achievements, we promoted Sam to a Planner in 2022.
“During my final year of school, I started visiting universities to figure out where I wanted to go after I’d completed my A-Levels and it quickly became evident that the traditional university route was not for me. This was because the courses I was looking at lacked the practical experience I was after and I wasn’t sure that the university lifestyle was for me.
Instead, I chose to do work experience, which was where I first met Jayne and the team at Edgars and got my first experience of the planning world. Jayne mentioned that they were a trailblazer for the emerging Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship and that it would be beginning within the next year or so, so I did some more research on what this would entail and decided that this was what I wanted to do next.
So, after I finished school and got my A-Level results, I sent my CV to Edgars, where I was offered a position and worked for a year prior to the start of my apprenticeship”, commented Sam Biles, Planner at Edgars.
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