Long before they graduated from UNE last December, Kaitlin Aldous and Emma Kell had secured full-time positions with Shoalhaven City Council, in south-eastern NSW. The newly minted urban and regional planners Australia-wide had already found their skills and experience in high demand in what the industry describes as a “growth profession”.
But this pair enjoyed the best of both worlds – job security and support to study online from their regional homes – courtesy of a long-standing UNE-Shoalhaven City Council relationship.
“During my 30 years at Shoalhaven we have always had one or more staff members going through UNE’s Urban and Regional Planning (URP) degree,” said council’s Strategic Planning Manager Gordon Clark. “About 20 years ago, when planner shortages first arose, we embarked on a cadet program requiring cadets to study at UNE. Its distance program enabled staff to work and study.”
Soon after commencing her degree at UNE Kaitlin secured a cadetship at Shoalhaven and now works as a strategic planner in the Special Projects team. Emma already had a Bachelor of Social Science when she was accepted as a cadet and UNE student. She now works as a strategic planner in the Local Planning team.
We have a lot of confidence in the UNE program. To be working in the field as you study is a big advantage – for the staff member and for us – and UNE has consistently produced better rounded individuals.
“We met through work and were cadets at the same time,” said Kaitlin. “It was great having the support of someone who was performing the same juggling act of work and study. We kept each other accountable.”
After quickly forming a friendship outside of work, Emma and Kaitlin agree that studying together helped to keep each other motivated. “We could bounce ideas off one another, work through our assignments and relate them to what we were doing in the workplace,” Emma recalls. “I found the online tutorials a fabulous way to learn. The interaction with people from very different areas and with vastly different perspectives was valuable and encouraged learning beyond the course content.”
Despite enjoying early employment in banking, Kaitlin had always wanted to be a planner. “Life just got in the way a little before I found my way back,” she said. “UNE gave me the opportunity to make a head start on my planning career before being accepted as a cadet.”
Both women found they could apply what they were learning directly in the workplace and vice-versa. “I used my studies to inform my approach to real-life challenges I was experiencing at work and to gain a deeper understanding of them,” Kaitlin said. “The subjects UNE offers are relevant and provide the basis for starting out in the workforce.”
Gordon said the council has employed many of its cadets as planners (working in both strategic and development assessment roles) before completing their UNE degrees, and then offered study assistance to support them through to graduation. “We have a lot of confidence in the UNE program,” he said. “To be working in the field as you study is a big advantage – for the staff member and for us – and UNE has consistently produced better rounded individuals.”
UNE’s courses are recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), which has reported shortages of urban and regional planners in every state and territory except the ACT. The PIA has forecast that demand for planners will continue to rise, highlighting their critical role in addressing long-term challenges like housing affordability, population growth and the transition to net zero.
