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The power of apprenticeships for the housing sector
I’ll be the first to admit I fell into my housing apprenticeship very much by accident. But 13 years later, I can’t imagine a career in any other sector, writes Haydn Clark, a housing officer at Karbon Homes
I wasn’t planning on working in housing. To be honest I knew very little about the sector. But 13 years on and I’m working in a career I absolutely love, so looking back, it really was the happiest accident.
I left school and went to college to do an engineering course. The college applied for an apprenticeship with a Derwentside Homes (one of the legacy organisations that merged to form Karbon Homes) on my behalf, and I arrived at the interview thinking that it was for a plumbing or electrical apprenticeship.
In my naivety I didn’t think there was much else to housing, but a few questions into the interview, they realised there had been a mix-up and explained to me that I was actually interviewing for a housing apprenticeship.
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Turns out I was applying for the first housing apprenticeship in the North East. Up until 2010, there had never been a traditional apprenticeship in housing with a Chartered Institute of Housing-certified housing qualification available, so the opportunity I’d found myself in was unique.
The apprenticeship lasted 12 months. For the first six, I was given a training plan which saw me move around the different functions of the organisation, such as the customer relationship team and the repairs and maintenance team.
This helped build my understanding of how the organisation worked and how all the roles and teams fit together.
“The nature of an apprenticeship makes it a great tool for older candidates looking for a change in career and for upskilling existing colleagues”
It also gave me the opportunity to gain Level 2 and 3 qualifications in housing. I then went on to complete a foundation degree in housing and communities studies, which Karbon funded, so by the end I was a qualified housing professional.
For me, an apprenticeship made on-the-job experience and professional qualifications easy to access and complete. I am so grateful for all the time, support and training my colleagues, past and present, gave me during that period.
Working within an organisation gave me first-hand exposure to a whole breadth of scenarios and challenges, many of which are now a daily part of my role as a housing officer, and the studies alongside it gave me the theoretical, bigger picture perspective I needed to embed and further develop what I’d learned.
With professionalism such a hot topic in the sector at the moment, apprenticeships not only provide those starting out with a more accessible, well-informed path into the sector, but help existing colleagues further develop their knowledge and skills.
When most people think of apprentices, fresh-faced 17-year-olds starting out in entry-level roles often spring to mind. But the nature of an apprenticeship makes it a great tool for older candidates looking for a change in career and for upskilling existing colleagues and helping them to progress.
They’re especially useful for those roles within our sector, such as housing management, that consist of multiple responsibilities and require a variety of different skills. And for smaller organisations where colleagues often hold multiple responsibilities, they’re a win-win.
“An apprenticeship made on-the-job experience and professional qualifications easy to access and complete”
Karbon has colleagues at all levels of the business engaging in apprenticeships alongside their roles, placing value on continued professional development.
Nowadays, our apprenticeship opportunities are kept exclusively for our customers, in line with our vision to support them to lead successful, independent lives. This means we have a diverse range of people taking up these positions, from those wanting to learn a trade, to those looking for an opportunity to explore a new career direction, or get back into work after a break.
Like me, so many people’s stories seem to start with “I fell into housing, but now I love it”. Through apprenticeship programmes, we can change this to “I chose housing” and help more people to fall into a career they love.
