Designing and developing transport and travel systems.
Transport planners assess how people and goods move, then design or improve the systems that support that movement. At degree level, the apprenticeship covers transport modelling, policy analysis, infrastructure appraisal, and planning legislation. Apprentices develop technical skills in data collection and analysis alongside an understanding of land use, public transport, highways, and active travel. They learn to apply this within the regulatory and planning frameworks that govern transport schemes in the UK.
Typical work involves collecting and interpreting transport data, running or supporting traffic and demand models, drafting transport assessments, and preparing technical reports. Apprentices attend site visits, liaise with local authorities and planning teams, and contribute to consultations on development proposals or infrastructure schemes. Software such as VISSIM, SATURN, or GIS tools features regularly, depending on the employer. Work is usually project-based, with deadlines tied to planning applications or client briefs.
Completing this apprenticeship leads naturally into roles such as transport planner, transport consultant, transport modeller, or highway engineer. Progression typically moves toward senior planner or associate level, with some specialists moving into transport policy or strategic planning roles within local or national government. Employers include transport consultancies, local highway authorities, transport for regional bodies, infrastructure contractors, and central government agencies. The construction and development sectors also employ transport planners to support planning applications for new sites.
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No training providers currently listed for this standard.
Graduates typically move into Transport Planner or Junior Transport Consultant roles, working on transport assessments, travel plans, and highway design projects. Some move directly into local authority transport teams as Transport Planning Officers, while others join specialist consultancies as Graduate Transport Planners. Roles involve preparing planning applications, modelling traffic and demand, and contributing to infrastructure schemes across road, rail, cycling, and public transport networks.
Within three to five years, most planners progress to Senior Transport Planner or Transport Consultant, taking ownership of projects and managing client relationships. From there, two tracks become common: a technical specialist route leading to Principal Planner or Technical Director roles, and a project leadership route toward Associate or Director level. Chartered membership with the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) or the Transport Planning Society (TPS) is a typical milestone along either track.
Local authorities, combined authorities, and national bodies such as National Highways and Transport for Wales are significant employers, particularly for roles focused on policy, strategy, and development management. Multi-disciplinary engineering and planning consultancies, ranging from large national practices to smaller regional firms, hire the greatest volume of transport planners. Housebuilders, rail infrastructure clients, and airports also employ transport planners in-house to support major development programmes.
Learning takes place in the workplace alongside formal study, meaning the apprentice builds technical and professional competence throughout the programme rather than in isolation from it. Before final assessment can begin, the apprentice and their employer must agree they are ready, a point often called the gateway, at which the apprentice should be able to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours expected of a qualified transport planner. Final assessment then confirms that competence to the required standard. Assessment models across many degree apprenticeships are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification before committing to a provider.
Gathering evidence of real work throughout the programme makes the final assessment far more manageable than trying to reconstruct it near the end. This means keeping records of projects, decisions, design work and professional development as they happen. Close working with both the employer and the training provider is important: employers need to give apprentices exposure to varied transport planning tasks, and the training provider needs to monitor progress against the standard's requirements. Getting into those habits early sets a much stronger foundation for demonstrating genuine workplace competence at gateway and beyond.
Look for providers with achievement rates above 65% on their FATP profile, ideally higher given the five-year commitment involved. Because this is a degree-level apprenticeship, confirm the university partner has active transport planning research or industry links, not just a generic civil engineering programme. Strong providers can point to tutors with recent professional practice in transport modelling, infrastructure appraisal or policy work. Employer satisfaction scores above 80% suggest the provider is genuinely responsive to workplace needs, which matters when apprentices are splitting time between live project work and academic study.
Be cautious of providers with high enrolment numbers but falling achievement rates, since transport planning degree apprenticeships are demanding and attrition is a real risk. Vague answers about how off-the-job training integrates with employer project cycles are a warning sign. If a provider cannot explain how apprentices get exposure to transport modelling software, traffic appraisal methods or planning policy frameworks during the programme, the academic content may be too generic to be useful. Also check whether the provider has delivered this standard before or is simply converting an existing transport degree.
Applicants typically need A-levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications, as this is a degree-level programme. Some employers accept relevant work experience alongside lower formal qualifications, but entry requirements vary by employer and training provider. Because this is an integrated degree, apprentices study towards a full bachelor's degree while working, so providers usually look for evidence of academic ability to succeed at degree level before enrolment.
The typical duration is 60 months. Apprentices remain employed throughout and split their time between on-the-job learning and study with their training provider. The exact split and delivery model, such as day release or block learning, depends on the provider and employer. For the current off-the-job requirements, check the latest version of the standard on the IfATE and gov.uk pages, as these details are subject to revision.
Before reaching end-point assessment, apprentices must pass through the gateway, where the employer and provider confirm the apprentice has demonstrated the required knowledge, skills and behaviours and has met any mandatory requirements. Assessment typically includes elements tied to the integrated degree. Specific assessment methods are being updated across many standards under current reforms, so check the most recent version of the standard at gov.uk to confirm exactly what the end-point assessment involves.
The funding band is £23,000, which is the maximum that can be drawn from apprenticeship funding. Larger employers with a levy account use those funds directly. Smaller employers co-invest with the government, typically contributing a small percentage of the training cost. Employers with fewer than 50 staff who take on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 pay nothing. Actual costs depend on the training provider chosen and any negotiated pricing within the funding band.
Day-to-day work typically involves analysing transport data, contributing to travel demand modelling, preparing reports and planning documents, and supporting consultation processes. Apprentices often assist in assessing the transport impacts of proposed developments, working alongside qualified planners, engineers and local authority contacts. Tasks vary by employer, ranging from consultancy work on planning applications to in-house roles within local government or infrastructure organisations, but the focus is consistently on how people and goods move through built environments.
Completing this apprenticeship leads to a bachelor's degree in a transport-related subject and typically allows progression into qualified transport planning roles. Many completers work towards chartered status with a relevant professional body, such as the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. From there, progression can move towards senior planner, project manager or specialist roles in areas such as active travel, public transport strategy or transport modelling, depending on the employing organisation.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 462.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.