In today’s world it’s important to work for a company that has clear purpose, giving back to communities and supporting what is truly important in the world.
When considering a career move its vital to work for a business that is aligned to your values and goals, a place where you can belong. See what WSP stands for in 2024 and beyond. To find out more about our Planning business click on the following link and discover what awaits you at WSP: Planning and Development
We are looking for graduates for our Planning and Development teams, who have a flexible approach and an appetite to learn in a leading Engineering and Professional services consultancy. We want you to enjoy working in a collaborative environment where you can apply your skills working for a diverse range of clients and projects.
Planning work is collaborative, engaging, diverse and exciting. Our work makes a difference to the communities and geographies we work in, providing legacy, economic, social and environmental impacts. We drive best practice in engagement, community relations, consultation and stakeholder management in the delivery of some of the country’s largest infrastructure projects as well as delivering expertise within the water, health, energy and environmental sectors.
You will join an enthusiastic and supportive team providing you with a challenging and fulfilling working experience. We will fully support your development through enrolment onto a training agreement with an appropriate professional body enabling you to progress to chartered status.
Projects
Our team work on important developments in the UK, you will be helping deliver projects such as:
- Eden Project Morecambe
- Aston Villa Stadum development
- HS2
- Hynet
- Network Rail
- United Utilities
- Scottish Power Energy Networks
To find out more about Sectors and specialisms we recruit our Graduates into click on the following link – Graduate opportunities Planning
Responsibilities
Our vision is to be recognised as the strongest and best Development and Planning team in the industry. We strive to achieve this through continuous improvement and a management structure comprising of four pillars, namely: Technical Excellence, People, Clients and Operational Excellence.
We are recruiting for some fantastic opportunities for enthusiastic and motivated graduates for our Planning and Engagements teams across the UK.
Development Planning - Join our high-performing team of over 800 colleagues, supporting projects from land acquisition to construction. You will assist in design development, preparing technical documentation, and advising clients. You'll work on multiple projects, gaining support throughout your time as a graduate.
We help clients promote sustainable development, guiding plans from pre-feasibility through to planning consent and multi-disciplinary design.
Infrastructure Planning - As part of the largest UK team of Town Planners, you'll work on securing consent for major infrastructure projects. From planning applications to appraisals, you'll collaborate with teams, attend meetings, and manage smaller projects. You'll engage with clients, statutory bodies, and public consultees, supporting business development and networking.
Planning & Engagement - In our Infrastructure Planning and Engagement unit, you’ll support public consultations and the engagement element of our work on projects. Creating clear communications to help stakeholders understand projects. You’ll assist with the organisation of events, run surveys, and present feedback, helping projects develop responsibly.
Planning Consultancy - As part of our Planning Consultancy team, you’ll guide clients through the planning process, from site appraisal to securing consents. You’ll contribute to development proposals and deliver innovative solutions to meet client objectives.
Graduate Development Programme
Our Graduates told us the best part of being on the Graduate Development Programme is the support for their own personal development and large network available to them.
They also said they had the chance to work on a wide variety of projects enabling them to work closely with other disciplines, allowing them to gain a better understanding of their role on projects and how this enhances the schemes they are involved in. As well as the large pool of experts to guide them throughout their journey.
We have established relationships with professional institutions including but not all ICE, IStructE, IET, CIBSE, CIHT, CILT, IMechE, IChemE, CIWEM, RICS, RTPI, SocEnv & APM. You will have the opportunity to select a technical mentor to help you on your journey, and to reward you for your efforts, (when you reach certain professional milestones, you’ll even get a bonus as a thank you and well done for your hard work). We are also able to support professional development with many other approved professional institutions that may not be included in this list.
Our 2-year Graduate Programme is designed to support personal career development and growth through a blended learning experience. The programme includes core business skills and career focused training, networking opportunities, professional registration mentoring and on-the-job experience. The development programme consists of four key streams illustrated below:
- 2 day in-person induction
- In person training days
- Technical role specific training
- Curated online content
- On-the-job experience
- Additional resources and activities
We also have a unique Professional Growth Network (PGN), which is a networking group run by early career professionals for ECP’s. It helps to grow your network of contacts across the business as well as providing you with opportunities for extra experience and to support you in achieving chartered status or other professional accreditations.
Essential criteria
You’ll have graduated with at least a 2:2 in a master’s or bachelor’s degree in the relevant degree subject for the role you are applying for.
To assist you in finding potential areas of the business that are relevant to you. Please explore our degree search tool on our graduate website https://www.wsp.com/en-gb/careers/graduates
- Candidates must complete the application form in full answering all specific questions. This requirement applies to all candidates, inclusive of their background. Successful completion of this stage is mandatory. Candidates who pass this initial stage, will then be required to complete an online behavioural assessment. Both the application form and the behavioural assessment are essential parts of the early careers recruitment process.
- You’ll be looking to start work in either April or September 2025
- Have a passion for planning and consulting and or sustainable engineering solutions
- An enthusiasm for creativity and a drive to solve problems
- You’ll want to inspire us, sharing new ideas you have
- In this team, you will be dealing with internal and external stakeholders and collaborating with colleagues and adapting to dynamic project environments.
Please be aware behavioural assessment results at WSP are valid for a period of 12 months, if you have completed an assessment within this timeframe and been unsuccessful, we will not be able to consider your application.
Early applications are recommended, and we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the advertised closing dateright to close this vacancy prior to the advertised closing date.
How long does the process take?
You'll receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application within 5 days of submission. After reviewing your application, if we feel your background and skills are suitable, you will be sent through to the second stage in the process which is an online behavioural assessment. To learn more about the assessment please visit Support For Candidates | Arctic Shores
If you are successful after completing the assessment, we will be work hard to match you to the most suitable roles in our business.
Most applications complete initial assessments and are progressed to the next stage, which is an interview day, within 8-10 weeks but it’s good to know that the whole process can last up to 12 weeks in total if you're an early applicant. We will aim to keep you informed throughout the time that your application is being considered however, due to the volume of applications received, we are not able to respond to individual requests for status updates.