Write a comment
A senior planner with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has graduated with distinction from Queen's University with a Master's Degree in Planning Development, all while working full-time and raising a young family.
Ashley Donaldson, who works with the Council's enforcement team across sites in Newry and Downpatrick, was also presented with the EPLANI award for planning skills and ethics by William Orbinson KC at his graduation last December.
Mr Donaldson signed up for the Council's Employee Qualification Scheme (EQA), which allowed him to balance his day job and work commitments while also helping to pay for his tuition fees. Working four days a week for the Council, the fifth was spent studying at Queen's, and with two young children, he admits it was challenging at times, but he got through the two-year course with the support of his family, council colleagues and fellow graduates.
He is one of several planning department members to graduate from Queen's. Annamarie Loughan and Sorcha O'Beirne completed the same degree course as Mr Donaldson but were not working with the Council when they commenced their studies.
Council chairperson, Philip Campbell, congratulated Mr Donaldson and the other members of the Planning Team on their academic achievements. "Working full-time and studying for a master's degree is particularly challenging. It takes dedication and determination to commit to part-time study over two years while holding down a full-time a job," he said. "Ashley's success illustrates how valuable the EQA scheme is, allowing staff to combine their jobs to build on their academic success."
Mr Donaldson said he is grateful to the Council for its support through the EQA scheme which he described as a "tremendous help". "I was able to work and study and, due to the financial support I received from my employer, I'm not facing student debt. I also had time off work to take my exams, and the 20 years' planning experience behind me was really beneficial to completing the course successfully," he said.
The senior planner is encouraging his council colleagues to consider adding to their qualifications and combining studying with a full-time career by applying for the EQA scheme. He said his Queen's degree introduced him to fellow graduates who came from a range of backgrounds, helping him establish new friends and networks. "The course helped develop new skills and the experience of studying alongside people from a range of different professions has been invaluable," he continued.
Last year marked a decade of service with the Council for Mr Donaldson, who joined the organisation following the Review of Public Administration when local councils were handed responsibility for planning and a range of other services. The RPA reduced the number of district councils from 26 to 11 and handed them responsibility for new services in the biggest shake-up of local government in decades.
Mr Donaldson previously worked for the Department of Environment (DoE), having started his working career as a forklift truck driver in a Homebase warehouse. He applied for a job as a trainee civil engineer with the former Department for Regional Development and while unsuccessful, he subsequently secured a job with the DoE Planning Service as a trainee planning assistant in 2003, making him the youngest planner in the public sector in Northern Ireland at that time. He studied part-time at Belfast Metropolitan College for four years and was awarded a Higher National Certificate in Planning, then progressed to become a Professional and Technical Officer in DoE Planning Service.
For a short time, Mr Donaldson was seconded to Land and Property Services, working on farm maps for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, before returning to his planning post within the DoE Planning Service in Craigavon. A decade on from joining Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, he enjoys his work and is grateful for the opportunity the organisation gave him to combine his day job and university study to enhance his educational qualifications.
