TPP and Professional Development Workshop

1. TPP and Professional Development Workshop Martin Richards TPP Director – Skills TPS Birmingham 29 March 2011 martinrichards1@aol.com

2. The Running Order • The TPS Professional Development Scheme and the TPP Qualification • The TPP Qualification: The Professional Review Routes • Two TPP Fundamentals • The Portfolio of Technical Knowledge (PTK) • The Portfolio of Evidence • The Professional Review Interview • Some Additional Points on the TPP • The TPS Professional Development Scheme Questions are welcome at any point

3. What are the TPS Professional Development Scheme and the TPP Qualification? • The TPS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) is a training scheme – designed to provide a structured pathway to obtaining a broad range of professional competences • The TPP is a professional qualification awarded to someone who can demonstrate that they have the ability and professional commitment to work and be recognised as a professional transport planner • Two key, related but different stages of professional development

4. Who manages the TPS PDS and the TPP Qualification? • The TPS PDS is managed by the Transport Planning Society (TPS) • working with employers who are licensed PDS users • The TPP qualification is • awarded jointly by TPS and the Chartered Institution of Highways Transportation (CIHT) • managed by a Professional Standards Committee, with members from both CIHT and TPS • administered by CIHT on behalf of the Professional Standards Committee

5. Who Uses the TPS PDS? • 22 employers, with PDS licences Arup Atkins Colin Buchanan Halcrow Hampshire CC Hyder Consulting Integrated Transport Planning Jacobs Consultancy JMP Consulting Leicestershire CC Mayer Brown Mott MacDonald, Mouchel MVA Consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff, Peter Brett Associates PFA Consulting Ramboll RPS Transport for London URS WSP • Including 14 of the NCE Top 20 consultants

6. Questions

7. The TPP Qualification: The Professional Review Routes

8. Step 1 - Do you have a degree? Yes • Is it • a UK Honours degree? • an equivalent from another country? • an approved Transport Masters? If not • you need to prepare and submit a Technical Report as a first step towards the TPP

9. Step 2 - Are you signed up to the TPS PDS? If you do not need to submit a Technical Report and you are following the TPS PDS, you can submit for your Professional Review interview once you have completed the PDS and you are confident that you have sufficient additional experience – including Proficiency. • You do not need to submit a Portfolio of Technical Knowledge • But you will need additional experience beyond completion of the PDS, to extend your Proficiency, particularly in management, of people and of projects. This is by design; having completed the PDS, you should pursue your career in the main areas that interest you, while obtaining the extra experience

10. Steps 3 and 4 - Do you have and approved Transport Masters? Yes • once you have sufficient experience (including Proficiency), you can prepare and submit for your Professional Review interview No • Unless you are planning to complete the TPS PDS, you must first submit a Portfolio of Technical Knowledge

11. All the TPP Routes

12. Questions

13. Two TPP Fundamentals

14. The TPP (and PDS) Competence Levels

15. The TPP Skill Units The TPP skill requirements are based on: • Ten Technical Units – “Section A” • such as A2: Laws and Regulations • Three Generic Units – Management, Communications and the like – Section B • such as B1: Professional Leadership • Each Unit is divided in two parts: 1 Awareness and Knowledge 2 Experience and Proficiency

16. Questions

17. The TPP Qualification: The PTK

18. The Portfolio of Technical Knowledge – the PTK Required for any candidates who • has not completed the TPS PDS • does not have an approved transport Masters • does not need to submit a Technical Report Through the PTK, you demonstrate that you have satisfied the TPP Section A Technical Knowledge requirements

19. Completing your PTK • You need to • provide evidence demonstrating you have satisfied the TPP Section A knowledge requirements • demonstrate your professional knowledge across modes • demonstrate a continuing commitment to learning through your CPD record • The evidence of your learning, knowledge, can include • short courses • degree modules • on the job training • You must use the standard PTK template • You can submit your PTK whenever you are ready

20. The PTK Knowledge Requirements

21. How is my PTK assessed? • Your PTK will be assessed by two trained assessors • one is likely to be a practitioner, the other from a university with an approved transport Masters course • They will need to be to be satisfied that you have a thorough understanding of the principles underlying transport planning in each of the Mandatory Units and the two other Units you have chosen

22. Remember! • Your PTK is about knowledge • It is NOT about experience • So write about how you have satisfied the Knowledge requirements through learning • experience is only relevant in explaining what you learned through working on projects • You must demonstrate how you satisfy the knowledge requirements within the 500 word limit for each of the eight Units

23. Keep Good Records! Keeping a detailed record of when and how you obtained each item of Knowledge - your learning outcomes - as your career progresses will be a great help when you come to complete your PTK

24. Questions

25. The Portfolio of Evidence

26. The Portfolio of Evidence The Portfolio of Evidence is, in effect, your application for a Professional Review interview Through your Portfolio of Evidence, you need to demonstrate 1 your Experience and Proficiency through: • one completed Competence Record Form (CRF) for each of • the ten Section A Units • the three Section B Units • a project synopsis (or synopses of up to three projects) 2 your commitment to professional development through: - your CPD record for the last two years - a SWOT analysis - a Personal Development Plan

27. The Section B – Generic - Units You must use the CRFs to demonstrate your Proficiency in each of the three Section B Units

28. The Section A – Technical - Units Understanding the rules for satisfying the requirements can be challenging • You must complete a CRF for each Unit • There are • six Mandatory Units (A1, A2. A3, A4, A5 & A6), • four Units in a “Choice Set” (A7, A8, A9 & A10) • The requirements involve two possible combinations of Proficiency and Experience Units

29. The Mandatory Section A Units First, • in five of the Mandatory Units you must demonstrate Experience, and • in one, Data, you must demonstrate Proficiency

30. In addition …You have two possibilities – Alternative 1 The first Alternative requires • Proficiency in four additional Section A Units, and • Experience in one additional Section A Unit • the one additional Experience Unit must be selected from one of the four “Choice Set” Units

31. Alternative 1 - The four additional Proficiency Units • The four additional Proficiency Units can then be chosen from five of the Mandatory Units and three of the “Choice Set” Units – but not the one selected for the additional experience Unit

32. Alternative 2 If you have a good breadth of experience but limited project management, you have an alternative of demonstrating Proficiency in three additional Section A Units, but you then have to demonstrate Experience in three additional Section A Units • Your three additional Experience Units must be selected from four of the “Choice Set” Units

33. Alternative 2 - The three additional Proficiency Units • Your three additional Proficiency Units can be selected from the one remaining Choice Set Unit left after selecting your three additional Experience Units and from five of the Mandatory set

34. The Section A Mandatory andChoice Requirements: A Summary There are 6 Mandatory Units: • 5 Units at Experience level • 1 Unit at Proficiency level – Data in addition you have a choice between • either • 4 Units (other than Data) at Proficiency level • plus 1 Choice Unit at Experience level • or • 3 Units (other than Data) at Proficiency level • plus 3 Choice Units at Experience level

35. Proficiency • Proficiency is about being able to supervise others – as well working without direct supervision • You do not have to be a Project Manager • work as a Task Manager or Team Leader within a larger project can demonstrate your “Proficiency”, provided you have had full responsibility for the parts of the project assigned to you

36. The Competence Record Form - CRF

37. Completing your CRFs For each CRF, you have maximum of 500 words in which to summarise your Experience, and your Proficiency where appropriate • as well as demonstrating your professional competence - that word limit tests your ability to communicate succinctly • you should use a variety of different projects within each CRF as well as across the 13 CRFs to demonstrate the breadth and depth of your Experience and Proficiency • do not concentrate on just a few projects • try to use projects other than that chosen for Project synopsis

38. Remember! • Your CRFs are about Experience and Proficiency • if you submitted a PTK, that was about Knowledge • while you might use some of the same projects, the evidence you draw from them for the two Portfolios is very different • a focus on a single mode or a narrow set of projects is not satisfactory • as someone with the TPP qualification, you must demonstrate that you are capable of working across a range of contexts, including modes

39. Questions

40. Your Project Synopsis • Your Project Synopsis must be no more than 1,200 words • that limit is another test of your skill in writing succinctly and well – a key communication skill • You can describe up to three projects • but it is usually better to concentrate on just one • The Project(s) should demonstrate the breadth and depth of your competence across both the Section A and the Section B requirements • The synopsis (or synopses) will form the basis of a presentation you have to make at the beginning of your Professional Review interview

41. Questions

42. How much Experience and Proficiency do I need? • Obtaining the qualification TPP requires both breadth and depth of experience • across modes • across contexts • Gaining that experience within a few years requires a structured approach to career development • obtaining it “as and when” will almost certainly take longer • Some transport planners may be ready for their TPP Professional Review interview within five years of starting work in transport planning • most will take longer

43. Keep Good Records! Keeping a detailed record of when and how you obtained each item of Experience and Proficiency as your career progresses will be a great help when you come to complete your Portfolio of Evidence

44. When can I submit my Portfolio of Evidence? • Only when you are confident that you have all the Experience and Proficiency that award of the TPP requires • TPP Professional Reviews are held twice a year, in early May and November • Your submission must be made one month earlier • the dates are given at www.tpprofessional.org

45. Questions

46. The TPP Professional Review Interview

47. What happens at my Professional Review Interview? • You will be interviewed by two trained reviewers (one will be in the lead) • there might also be an auditor or a trainee reviewer in the room, observing • Before the interview, the reviewers will have studied your Portfolio of Evidence and agreed the key areas they will pursue through the interview • You will first be asked to give a 15 -20 minute presentation on the project – or projects - you have chosen • The reviewers will then ask you about your project and then your experience • although the Interview is mainly about your experience, the reviewers may well ask you about your knowledge, if they have concerns

48. Your Professional Review Interview – The Project(s) • Rehearse your presentation, and rehearse it again • with your Mentor, with colleagues • Remember, it is as much a test of your ability to get the necessary information across within no more than 20 minutes – ideally 15 - as it is about the project(s) • If you go over the 20 minutes maximum, your reviewers might cut you off • Try to avoid using a laptop for your presentation • your reviewers will be on one side of a table, you on the other – and there might be a trainee reviewer off to the side • Its best to use handouts, or an A3 double sided flip chart

49. Your Professional Review Interview – After the Presentation • First, the Reviewers will ask you about your Project(s) • They will then move on to other parts of your Portfolio, focussing on addressing concerns they might have identified • The concerns might be about any aspect of your professional competence • technical, managerial, professional involvement and commitment …… knowledge, experience …… • The challenge is to respond to the questions honestly, informatively and succinctly – do not ramble or talk at length

50. Remember! • Your interview will last no more than 75 minutes, and in that time you have to • give the reviewers sufficient time to ask all the questions they want to ask • convince the reviewers that, supported by your Portfolio of Evidence, you have the breadth and depth of professional competence required for award of the TPP • Being an effective oral communicator is a key requirement