29 April 2009

Our Students Secure Prestigious Places on HCA Graduate Development Programme

Students from Town & Regional Planning were well represented in the new Homes and Communities Agency's first Graduate Development Programme.

Joe Mothersole and Simon Mattinson, both close to completing their final year of the MPlan programme, were selected following a rigorous and highly competitive selection process which recruited to only a handful of positions. This further demonstrates the Department's excellent teaching and its students' enviable track record in developing high profile careers within the worlds of planning and regeneration.

“Having recently secured a place on the graduate scheme with the newly formed Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), I am now entering a field in which my time in Sheffield has made me increasingly enthusiastic about. The modules undertaken throughout the course and experiences gained, particularly as part of the fourth year Masters programme, proved particularly pertinent. With regard to the interview process, I felt very well prepared with a strong knowledge base of the planning arena and its associated fields such as regeneration. As a result I would highly recommend the Town and Regional Planning course at Sheffield to anyone looking to move into this challenging but hopefully rewarding area of work”.
Simon Mattinson, University of Sheffield

“I have been offered a place on a graduate scheme with the government’s national housing and regeneration agency the Homes and Communities Agency. The fact that I was successful in my applications means that I must have been well prepared by the University of Sheffield’s Town and Regional Planning programme and I am very grateful to the Department.

I have found the MPlan course very interesting and valuable. I think one of the major strengths of the course is the wide range of topics it covers. As well as learning about the technical ins and outs of the planning system I have been encouraged to deepen my understanding on a number of issues such as public and community participation, business perspectives on development, local politics and the environment. All these issues have to be dealt with by planners but are also important to life more generally. The course has therefore been challenging, interesting and rewarding and I have very much enjoyed my time in the Department”.
Joe Mothersole, University of Sheffield

The Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration agency for England, was created in December 2008 when it took over responsibilities from English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation.