Joe Green is a second-year student at Northumbria University in Newcastle, studying for a BA in Geography. His course includes a work placement, and Joe has taken the opportunity to spend a year working with the Planning team at Newsteer in order to gain some valuable work experience.
What appealed to you about a work placement at Newsteer?
As someone who has always been interested in buildings, structures, and the process of creating things, I find it incredibly satisfying to see what I’ve accomplished. My interest in urban planning began while I was at sixth form, and I knew it was something I wanted to pursue further. When the time came to find a placement at university, I reached out to my rugby club, Beckenham RFC, for assistance. Quite a few people replied but one stood out that put me in touch Newsteer Planning Director, Paul Manning. After researching the company, I immediately knew it was the perfect fit for me. After a few months of getting to know each other and discussing the placement details, Paul coincidentally called me on my birthday and offered me a placement job at Newsteer.
What type of activities have you been involved in so far?
A significant part of my role has involved conducting research while I familiarise myself with the basics of being a planner. One notable project I worked on was a planning audit for a site in Kent. Although it was initially challenging due to my limited understanding of the concepts and terminology, it was a valuable learning experience that has prepared me well for future projects and given me a better grasp of planning conditions and their functionality.
What are the significant skills or knowledge you’ve learned so far?
I have learned so much. One skill would be becoming more efficient. It sounds so simple but before coming to Newsteer I had no idea how to find a planning application or committee report, and it would take hours to find something so simple. But now I can do it quickly with the smallest amount of information, which is massively important when working on instructed pieces of work with strict deadlines. A key piece of knowledge that I have learned, and am still learning, would be all the planning terminology. Just like going to a new country, there is a language to learn, and fields of employment are no different. Each has a different language and terminology to learn. This is something that I had to learn when coming to Newsteer, and while I am not fluent in the language of planning just yet, my understanding grows daily.
How has the team helped contribute to your learning and development?
The team has helped unbelievably. As Newsteer is a small company in terms of the number of people, I’ve been really welcomed and supported by everyone. There has been a clear pathway of development set out for me. This started with basic research of a site, then more advanced research, then my own pieces of small but instructed work, to helping write planning appraisals and statements, to now writing my own. I’m excited to see where it goes next.
How do you see this experience influencing your future career path?
I already see Planning as a potential career path. It has always been something that I have been interested in and to get a real-world understanding and experience of it has only increased my interest. It doesn’t feel like a job and ‘going to work’ as I enjoy it and that is what people always tell you to do – find something that doesn’t feel like work.
Newsteer offers work placement opportunities. Further information for 2024 will be released soon but please get in touch here if you want to find out more.
