Are All Planners Made Equal?

Do we need a national graduate training program or is planning education and on the job training enough?

Throughout my career I have heard different opinions about various planning schools around the country. Some are perceived to be more prestigious than others, some are seen to focus on urban planning whilst others have more of an environmental focus. I studied at Auckland University but I have worked with planners that gained their degree from Otago, Massey, and Waikato. I have worked with some excellent planners and some planners that maybe haven't yet found their ideal career.

What University you attend doesn't seem to pre-empt the skill you will have as a planner. What seems to matter more is the approach you take, your core values and understanding of activities and effects. It is this that equips someone to be a planner. What is important is that you have a degree that gives you this basis.

Also vital is that planning students are prepared for working life as a planner. Perhaps there is the need for a graduate training course to bridge the gap between university and planning practice, a focus on every day technical skills - like the professional skills course lawyers do before being admitted to the barr. Is there a role for more experienced planners to play, guest lecturing at university or offering internships to planing students?

In an ideal world, every employer would have a robust graduate training programme in place but I suspect this doesn't always happen and a lot of graduates are often thrown in at the deep end or even if not, there are likely to be cases when graduates would like to have a little more practical knowledge.

Do you think that a nation wide graduate training program would be useful? Or is planning education enough?