Morgan Hewkin is a Graduate Planner at Marrons
Planning wasn’t always the career path I was destined to follow. I didn’t choose to pursue planning until quite late in my studies; everyone around me seemed to know what they wanted to be since their GCSEs, but I was still sat wondering quite what I wanted to do. When choosing which GCSE options to take my career thinking was very different to where I’ve ended up; at the time I thought I maybe wanted to be an accountant. That led to me studying subjects like maths, science, and stats alongside other subjects I enjoyed, like geography. It became clear over the next two years that I didn’t want to become accountant! I was back to searching for a career. My A level options were therefore picked purely because of what I enjoyed and did well in, specifically maths, economics, and geography.
My interest in planning really grew from my enjoyment of the human geography aspect of geography while I was at school. I am curious about the world around me and how it works, why it is the way it is, and what is influencing change. This led me to start researching careers linked to human geography, and it was while doing this that I stumbled across planning. From that point forward it was clear to me that this would be a great career to pursue.
I really struggled with my A-levels. This was for a range of reasons, including Covid impacts, but the result was my grades weren’t as good as they could have been. This meant I found it hard to find a university that I could attend and that also did the course I wanted to do. By this point I had my heart set on planning and I did not give up. Just a few weeks before lectures were due to start, I secured my place at the University of Gloucestershire where I studied for a BSc in Urban Planning.
A key part of my journey to becoming an apprentice was the work experience that I took part in during the final year of my undergraduate degree. I worked as part of the planning team in a renewable energy company called Ecotricty. My decision behind choosing this company was my interest and passion for sustainability within planning, and Ecotricity had values, objectives, and a vision that resonated with me. During my work experience, I completed a variety of tasks that exposed me to the real world of planning. This provided me with useful experiences, such as attending networking events, meetings with other professionals such as landscape architects, working on live applications, and gaining knowledge and advice from people within the profession. Taking part in my work experience provided me with the knowledge and confidence to be able to secure my apprenticeship.
I was considering an apprenticeship as one of my next step options, but I was actually approached directly by my company, Marrons, through LinkedIn. They explained that they had a new opportunity coming up and they thought I would fit the role. After doing some further research into apprenticeships and talking to those around me, especially those working at my placement, I knew this was something I wanted to go for.
The process was simple and only took around a month from the initial phone call to being offered the job. After an initial phone call to explain and discuss the role, I completed a short online assessment. Following this there was an in-person interview consisting of a 40-minute site assessment, followed by an interview with two Directors of the company.
The education and training side of the apprenticeship was all coordinated between my company and the University of Birmingham, so I didn’t need to worry about that. The apprenticeship works based upon an average of 1 day at week either at the university, or pursuing my own structured Off The Job Training (OTJT) with the support of my team at work and university tutors. I’ve already met one of the academics from the team, and I’m really keen to get started on the MSc City and Regional Planning course there.
I’m already really enjoying my time at Marrons, and I’m looking forward to what the next few years bring.
My top tips
- Gain as much experience as you can – if you can do a placement/work experience do it.
- Talk to as many people in the profession and gain their opinions – the more people you know the better.
- Don’t give up – some big companies close their apprenticeship applications early, but don’t give up if you missed the cut off. I didn’t secure mine until April to start in September.
- Be yourself in the interview - employers are looking for who you are as well as what you know.
- Ask questions – whether that’s in the interview or just to people you know in the profession, everyone started where you are once.
Find out more about apprenticeships
Find out more about apprenticeships here.
