I am a graduate planner in the Manchester office working in the general planning team. I applied to Savills through the graduate scheme and was accepted in the 2017 intake. I’ve now worked for Savills for over a year and a half, having worked part time two days a week alongside my degree before officially embarking full time on the graduate programme.
I graduated from King’s College London in 2014 with an undergraduate degree in Geography. I worked in advertising for two years before starting my Masters degree, but during this time I completed a month's internship at another planning consultancy and undertook several days of work shadowing at my local planning authority.
In 2016 I started a Masters in Urban Regeneration at the University of Manchester and I graduated in December 2017. I’m currently working towards becoming a RTPI-accredited planner, and hope to submit my APC in October 2019.
My main role is to support senior members within my team. This includes assisting on planning applications, writing appraisals, undertaking research and writing reports. No two days are the same; I work on a series of projects every day, and attend meetings with clients, architects and case officers from local councils. I mainly work on residential projects, but my experience so far also includes education and retail planning.
As a multidisciplinary company, Savills allows me to work alongside other departments and across a variety of projects, which increases the breadth of work that I undertake. I often work alongside our development and property management teams, undertaking appraisals and providing advice to a variety of clients. I also love the social environment. There is always something going on amongst the graduates, and we often go to networking events with other professionals.
I like to go hiking. Having grown up in the Peak District I love spending my weekends out in the countryside. I recently completed the 3 Peaks Challenge alongside my colleagues in the Manchester office, which definitely lived up to its name.
There are so many opportunities at Savills to learn, whether it's within your team or within the wider graduate network. Every few months we have graduate training days, where you meet up with all the other planning graduates across the UK to discuss your APC and undertake CPD sessions on subjects like viability, heritage planning and ecology.
Working alongside senior colleagues everyday has really enhanced my learning experience. Being able to ask experienced planners and consultants who are experts in their respective fields for their advice, has given me the ability to become a more well-rounded and informed planner.
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