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How housing providers can help the next generation of talent achieve their goals
After exam results day, Ian Hodson, director of people and culture at Housing 21, discusses what housing providers’ career offer should be for young people
Ian Hodson is director of people and culture at Housing 21
Results day is always exhilarating and terrifying in the same moment. While I hope all students (and their parents and guardians!) had a good experience yesterday as they received their results, I remember it vividly and must confess I found it a time of mixed emotions. While feeling a huge sense of relief and achievement, I also felt the slight nervousness around change and opportunity.
This will be the same for many, as, once you’ve received your results, you are immediately onto the obvious question: what next?
A huge number of people will be clear on their next steps and will have a plan, depending on how things go. But many will not.
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While there are numerous career paths available for school leavers, recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed youth unemployment in the UK is on the rise. Between April and June this year, it had increased to 13.4%, compared with 12.3% the previous year.
These numbers are too high. It’s my belief that housing providers can step up to the plate here and make a real difference in our communities – as called for in Inside Housing’s Housing Hires campaign. So, what can we do?
First, we must have a clear offer. We may have varied options for young people to fulfil their career goals, but does that come across? This is something we have worked to improve at Housing 21.
As with all housing providers, we offer a wide variety of roles, from IT and people services, to development and asset management. But it is a competitive market and we need to stand out to attract the best people for roles in our corporate and resident-facing teams.
We are competing with other sectors to attract early-career professionals, so it is imperative that we promote our strengths as an employer with a strong social purpose and inclusive culture, ultimately making a difference to our residents.
“We may have varied options for young people to fulfil their career goals, but does that come across? This is something we have worked to improve at Housing 21”
At Housing 21, we place the person first and aim to provide a sector-leading benefits package for all employees. Recently, we introduced an employer-funded healthcare plan and updated our pension scheme. We have also reviewed our parental leave and pay and have chosen to pay our care workers at least 10% more than the National Living Wage. Our aim is to ensure that our employees thrive both in and out of work.
An example of this is Erin McGreevey, an assistant care manager at Housing 21’s Rowan Croft Extra Care scheme in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Erin joined Housing 21 as a care worker while studying for a media and journalism degree at Northumbria University. She agreed a work schedule with her manager that enabled her to balance work with her studies. After graduating, Erin had enjoyed her time at Housing 21 so much that she applied for her current role.
Second, how do you continue to invest in your team and help them achieve their goals?
Housing 21 offers a wide range of career opportunities in both corporate and operational roles, together with great professional and personal development. Apprenticeships and T-level courses are available alongside flexible working for people to continue with their studies. We have also launched the Extra Care Academy and Housing Academy to help professionalise our operational roles and develop our future leaders.
Zoheb Akhtar is part of this programme. He started working at Housing 21 as a retirement-living regional coordinator in West Yorkshire. Zoheb was part of the first cohort of students in the Housing Academy, an 18-month programme aimed at operational employees looking to progress their careers.
The Housing Academy provides students with specific housing knowledge, leadership skills, and training and expertise from mentors across Housing 21. The first cohort is over halfway through and working towards a Level 4 senior housing and property management apprenticeship with the Chartered Institute of Housing.
“Apprenticeships and T-level courses are available alongside flexible working for people to continue with their studies. We have also launched the Extra Care Academy and Housing Academy to help professionalise our operational roles and develop our future leaders”
Third, what external validation is there that you are doing as well as you can? How do you identify where you can keep improving?
For us, this has been about never being complacent and always pushing to do the most we can to be an excellent employer. Being one of the first housing providers to gain the prestigious Investors in People platinum accreditation was significant, as was being ranked in the top three best UK employers for 2024 by colleagues on Glassdoor.
We are also delighted to have been recently shortlisted in awards around our employee benefits offering. This helps us meet our aim of establishing a strong employer brand and reputation and offers assurance that we are competitive across all sectors.
But there is always more we can do and we continue to listen to employees and pick up on trends through networks.
There is no reason why the youth unemployment rate should be so much higher than for other groups. As many young people across the country, like Erin and Zoheb, plan for their futures this week following their A-level results, it is up to all of us to ensure we play our part in helping the next generation of talent discover the right career path and what the housing sector has to offer to help them achieve their goals.
Ian Hodson, director of people and culture, Housing 21
