David Coleman is Managing Director of DAC Planning. He attended the careers fair alongside DAC colleagues Vicki Willis and Asuka Onishi.
The DAC Planning team recently participated in St. Benedict’s Catholic College’s very first career fair. As a town planning consultancy specialising in providing strategic advice and support to local authorities, communities, and public sector bodies, this was not a typical day for us. Our participation, however, reflects our commitment to helping diversify the planning profession and encourage more people to consider planning as a career. With students from Years 7 to 11 attending and 12 organisations from across Colchester setting up informative stands, the event aimed to increase students’ awareness of a wide range of possible career paths. Our role, supported by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), was to introduce town planning as a potential career for the students to consider.
At our booth, we created a vibrant display, featuring a prominent RTPI banner and panel displays summarising the key aspects of town planning and what our role entails. It was exciting to see how engaged students were in learning about how they could enter the planning profession and what town planning actually involves. Our conversation extended into fun discussions, where students shared their thoughts on planning and guessed which subjects were important in becoming a town planner. Geography was a common choice, although many students also referenced engineering, architecture, and even creative subjects like art as essential to the profession.
From left to right, David Coleman, Vicki Willis, and Asuka Onishi of DAC Planning
To encourage engagement, we invited students to capture their thoughts on “What makes a good place?” using post-it notes. Their answers were imaginative and diverse, ranging from practical considerations like bike parks and clean environments to more social aspects such as spaces for hanging out with friends and creating strong community ties. Their responses emphasising that good town planning isn’t just about physical spaces but also about how people interact with those spaces. We realised that many students, while unfamiliar with the technical aspects of planning, were quick to grasp the social and environmental implications of the profession.
Students shared their thoughts on what makes a good place using post-it notes.
St. Benedict’s Catholic College’s very first careers fair
The event underscored the importance of outreach to younger audiences. Without direct engagement, many students might not have considered town planning as a career option. However, after our discussions, a surprising number expressed interest in exploring it further. The leaflets and RTPI-branded giveaways we provided were particularly popular, giving students something tangible to remember the profession by and hopefully igniting further curiosity.
This event is part of our ongoing efforts to diversify the planning profession and encourage more people to consider planning as a career. By doing so, we aim to strengthen the profession and ensure it reflects the communities it serves. Through activities like careers fairs, alongside our proud involvement in the Local Government Association’s Pathways to Planning programme and our broader training initiatives, we seek to inspire the next generation of planners and provide guidance to those interested in shaping the places we live in.
We highly recommend participating in similar events—engaging students with hands-on activities, clear messaging, and fun giveaways is a great way to connect with them. If you're interested, we also suggest reaching out to the RTPI, which can offer useful resources to help support your efforts as part of their Ambassadors programme.
