GRADUATE & UNEMPLOYED PLANNERS ARE IMPORTANT RESOURCE
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
IRISH PLANNING INSTITUTE
Press Release 27th December 2010
GRADUATE & UNEMPLOYED PLANNERS ARE IMPORTANT RESOURCE
Graduated planners and unemployed town planners represent a major resource for the country which needs to be utilised, according to the President of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), Mr Gordon Daly.
Mr Daly was welcoming the announcement of the Government in the Budget to expand placement and internship programs for graduates and unemployed professionals.
He pointed to “the significant skills potential of planning graduates and experienced unemployed town planners to assist in economic recovery and consolidating communities.”
Ireland has the youngest population in Europe with one-in-three persons under 25. It also has the highest proportion of graduates among the 25-34 age group in the EU.
Mr Daly said the level of unemployment among built environment professionals such as architects, engineers and planners has been particularly acute. The majority of planners are employed in local authorities, An Bord Pleanala, private planning consultants, Third Level Institutes, The Department of Environment and some semi-State bodies.
Referring to the Budget initiative he stated: “It’s important that this is fast tracked. We have a strong pool of planning graduates who because of the strategic nature of their skills and training would be of value to a wide range of employers not necessarily just in main stream planning areas.”
Speaking on behalf of the IPI - which represents the country’s professional planners working in public and private practice - Mr Daly said that graduates in general need some hope:
“The IPI held a day long careers and employment seminar recently to provide as much advice as possible for our graduates. They themselves, their parents and indeed the State itself have invested heavily in their education. It is important that they are not abandoned now,” said Mr Daly.
The IPI accredits professional planning courses at University College Cork, Dublin Institute of Technology and University College Dublin and they will produce approximately 100 graduates in 2011.
Stressing that these planning graduates would make ideal graduate employees in a wide variety of organisations because of their skills, he stated: “Planners are trained to think and act strategically. They have excellent project management, problem solving, organisational and communication skills. They also have strong negotiation, mediation, advocacy and leadership skills. These are all transferable to a wide variety of graduate jobs other than in main stream planning.”