The RTPI has seen a 34.7% increase in Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) submissions for first assessment round in 2025, compared to the same assessment round in 2024. This follows strong growth from previous years including a 42.6% increase in entries from 2022 to 2023.
The APC process is the assessment stage to become a Chartered member, which is considered the gold standard of planning practice. Chartered members are recognised by employers, clients and members of the public for their skills, expertise and professional practice.
RTPI President Helen Fadipe MBE said: “Given the severe resourcing issues currently being experienced by local authority planning departments, having a strong pipeline of Chartered planners coming through is vital for the Government to be able to deliver its growth agenda.
“While the increase is a very positive reflection on the work being done by the RTPI’s Membership Team to encourage submissions, the RTPI is also calling for a comprehensive and long-term skills and resourcing strategy to be published alongside the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.”
RTPI Head of Membership Martine Koch added: “I am delighted that this submission round has seen a particularly large increase in entries, predominantly from Licentiates applying via the L-APC route. This is the first round that changes to the requirement to submit a Reflective Journal for the L-APC route were introduced. We will continue to closely monitor the impact of these changes and the overall APC entries throughout the rest of 2025.
“The changes to the Reflective Journal requirements were introduced after extensive consultation with member and stakeholders. While we still strongly encourage candidates to maintain a Reflective Journal , we have removed what was seen as a barrier to candidates’ submissions.”
