The changing nature of the job market for planning in South Africa: Implications for planning educators

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of a job market study conducted by South African planning schools in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in 2001. The study explores several interrelated themes: the structure of the job market, and current trends within the public and private sectors; the growth of new fields of work linked to planning; the growth and decline of fields within planning, and market perceptions of skills and competencies that are needed. Findings are to some extent regional, and reflect economic and institutional dynamics in the three areas. Key findings include the reshaping of the private sector, and the public-private division of work; the diversification of planning work, including a shift towards developmental planning, both within planning departments, and outside of them. Generalist planners are still in demand but the nature of what constitutes generalist planners is much wider than before. The diffuse nature of planning holds both opportunities and challenges for planners and for planning educators.