CPD module: the recruitment and retention challenge in repairs and maintenance

An effective repairs and maintenance function is vital to providing safe and high-quality social housing. Recruitment and retention of the repairs and maintenance workforce is, however, widely reported to be a challenge across the sector.

This article explores the nature of that challenge. It considers the extent of the issue and some of the reasons for it, reviewing the situation across the trades in general and within social housing organisations in particular. It also considers how the challenge might be addressed by organisations and at a national level.

How big is the recruitment and retention challenge in the trades?

There is a significant shortfall of skilled tradespeople in the UK. Research published in October 2023 by retail firm Kingfisher and The Centre for Economics and Business Research found:

• There is a current shortage of 166,000 tradespeople
• Vacancy levels for many trades are at near-record highs
• Some projects are having to be delayed because of a lack of tradespeople
• The shortfall will rise to 250,000 tradespeople by 2030. The biggest shortages are likely to be among electricians, plumbing and heating installers, and carpenters/joiners

How do these shortages affect the social housing sector as a whole, and repairs and maintenance services in particular?

The shortage of skilled tradespeople is affecting the housing sector in multiple ways. It makes it harder to efficiently build new homes. It is also more challenging to successfully retrofit current properties. This puts the sector at risk of failing national targets on housebuilding and net zero.

The tradespeople shortage also seriously affects the ability to provide an efficient and effective repairs and maintenance service. This may prevent consistent compliance with the Decent Homes Standard, increasing the chances that tenants have to live in unsuitable properties that present health risks.

It is notable that two of the most significant recent failings in the sector – the Grenfell Tower fire and the death of Awaab Ishak from damp and mould in his parents’ flat – can be seen in part as failures to invest appropriately in repairs and maintenance.

Why are there such problems with recruitment and retention in the trades generally, and in social housing repairs and maintenance specifically?

There are a number of complex and interconnected reasons for the recruitment and retention challenge in social housing repairs and maintenance. Some apply generally to the trades. Others apply specifically to repairs and maintenance.

Overarching issues

• Less interest from young people in the trades – it can be argued that over the past few decades, the educational system has increasingly put a premium on encouraging young people into university. Vocational qualifications have not always been portrayed as equally valuable, leading to a poor perception of the trades as a career option. This has possibly been compounded by the digital era, in which careers that are less technology-based may be seen as less attractive.
• Brexit – Britain’s exit from the European Union has led some tradespeople to return to their home countries. It has also sometimes made it harder for firms in the UK to recruit from European nations.
• An ageing workforce – analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests that 750,000 construction workers could retire, or be on the verge of retirement, by 2035. So the problem is not only that the trades are failing to attract younger workers – it is that many of the current workforce will soon be leaving.
• A lack of diversity – the trades remain dominated by white men. Women and/or those from ethnic minority backgrounds who might have been interested in a tradesperson career may therefore feel they would not ‘fit in’ and so choose an alternative path.

Specific challenges for social housing repairs and maintenance

• Competing with the private sector for workers – with so many vacancies across so many settings, tradespeople can pick and choose jobs. Wages in the private sector are often higher than those paid by social landlords, providing an incentive to take roles there.
• Competing from within the sector for workers – working on capital projects for a social landlord can be more attractive than working in repairs and maintenance. The completion of jobs in new homes does not depend on residents for access to properties, for instance. Improvement projects can also seem preferable – someone who is installing new kitchens or windows is likely to be welcomed by residents. In contrast, repairs and maintenance projects are by definition those where a problem already exists or where it may exist in due course. Tenants may be frustrated or even angry that a decision has been taken to repair rather than replace. Others may be living complex lives and have complex needs. On top of all this, wages for tradespeople on capital projects can be higher than those working in repairs and maintenance.
• More complex customer needs – the pandemic and lockdowns, as well as the cost of living crisis, made the lives of many people much harder. The prevalence of mental health disorders has grown and many people have experienced prolonged periods of isolation. Healthcare and social services have been under pressure and struggling to meet need. For all these reasons, there are now growing numbers of social housing residents with complex needs. For repairs and maintenance staff, these additional needs – which they are rarely trained to meet – can make jobs more challenging.
• Pay structures that can result in perverse financial incentives – in some organisations, taking a managerial or supervisory role in repairs and maintenance involves taking a pay cut. This means it can feel like there is little opportunity for career progression.

How could social landlords address these challenges?

Many of the solutions to this crisis are likely to lie outside the gift of individual organisations, or indeed of the social housing sector as a whole. Changing the educational system to put vocational training on a par with ‘academic’ routes, for instance, would likely require government intervention.

St Leger Homes’ World of Work Academy is a free scheme designed to help residents with employment – including encouraging them to consider careers in repairs and maintenance.

Under the programme, residents can take up a six-month role with the organisation. They are also offered learning opportunities at local colleges.

A handful of people have already come on board permanently following the scheme. 

With that said, there are measures that individual leaders and organisations could take to improve recruitment and retention in repairs and maintenance:

• Promote awareness of the opportunities in the sector – repairs and maintenance can be an excellent starting point for a fulfilling career in the social housing sector. Employers should strive to make this clearer to potential recruits, emphasising that the skills gained in repairs and maintenance are transferable and can be used in other parts of the business. For those who are interested, it should be emphasised that there are paths into management and up to executive level.
• Create formal progression routes – at St Leger Homes, there is a Rising Star programme for those working in the trades. This seeks to identify tradespeople who are interested in progressing their career within the organisation. They are offered one-to-one coaching and mentoring, as well as training opportunities. Through this, the organisation has recruited project managers who came from the trades.
• Work with schools and colleges – St Leger Homes, for instance, has sought to build connections with local educational institutions in the hope of encouraging young people to consider careers in the trades.
• Promote more inclusive working environments – in some organisations, it can still feel as though staff in repairs and maintenance are viewed differently to those in office-based roles. The trades are sometimes viewed as a block of people rather than as individuals. Addressing this – ensuring that all members of the organisation feel they have an equally important part to play, and that they are respected – could be a helpful means of increasing retention. At Yorkshire Housing, the director of homes regularly goes out on visits with repairs and maintenance staff so as to deepen understanding of their work. A culture plan for repairs is also being developed, making sure that the team seamlessly fits within the organisation, but also that anyone from any background feels a career in repairs could be for them. At St Leger Homes, meanwhile, there are away days that include representatives from all parts of the business, from chief executive to very junior roles. Activities such as these can help structures feel less hierarchical and build a sense that everyone within an organisation is working to the same vision and goals.
• Review financial incentives – finances are of course tight, but it is worth reviewing what is possible to do within the constraints that are in place. Can what were previously bonuses simply be made part of salary? Can any perverse incentives be ironed out? At Yorkshire Housing, leaders would like to explore whether repairs and maintenance staff might prefer to see some benefits converted into a higher salary.
• Celebrate those who have prospered in the profession – public recognition of outstanding repairs and maintenance staff, whether through internal or national awards, not only helps keep them in the sector – it can also encourage others to come into it. Membership organisations can play an important role here. Direct Works, for instance, represents over 100 social housing organisations with in-house repairs and maintenance services and runs yearly awards.
• Seek ways to get staff onto the books more swiftly and to emphasise job security – with so much demand for tradespeople, someone offered a job may go somewhere else in the time it takes for the paperwork to be completed and the role to start. Ensuring as smooth and swift a process as possible reduces this risk. With apprentices, some social housing organisations are offering a permanent role from the start. This offers job security, as well as a chance to grow within the organisation.

How should repairs and maintenance jobs evolve?

Technology, support, customer service – the march of technology, and the need to overcome staff shortages, means the evolution of repairs and maintenance jobs is inevitable. Greater digitisation may provide opportunities to make jobs more attractive by removing the likes of lengthy administrative processes.

The potential role of repairs and maintenance staff in identifying residents who need extra support also should not be underestimated. For someone who is struggling and isolated, a gas safety check may provide a rare opportunity for insight into their lives. Where an employee is interested, social housing organisations might consider providing additional training and knowledge in resident support.

Emphasising the customer service aspect of a repairs and maintenance role might also be a way to attract a broader range of people to the profession.

Exploring different ways of working

The pandemic and associated lockdowns led to the growth of flexible and hybrid working in office-based jobs. For most repairs and maintenance staff, however, hours remain rigid. By definition the role cannot be performed from home, or even from one setting, and staff are often unable to exert much control over how they tackle their workloads.

The sector might explore whether there are means of providing greater flexibility in repairs and maintenance jobs. That might include having different staff working on different shift times as opposed to everyone working, for instance, 8am to 4pm daily. This would also allow greater flexibility for customers. Other options could include offering the likes of three-day contracts alongside full-time roles. This could be valuable for staff with childcare commitments, or those who want to retain some degree of self-employment alongside a staff job.

What other action might help?

Action from the social housing sector will not be enough to solve the challenge with the repairs and maintenance workforce. There will also need to be national and probably governmental action.

As well as encouraging more vocational education, it would be helpful were there to be more standardised qualifications for those working in repairs and maintenance. Direct Works has helped develop the Level 2 standard for the property maintenance operative apprenticeship. This sort of standardisation can reassure employers that potential employees have the necessary skills, but also helps potential employees to envisage a more formal learning and development path.

• To what extent is recruitment and retention of repairs and maintenance staff a challenge in your own organisation?
• Which measures do you think your own organisation could take to improve repairs and maintenance recruitment and retention?
• Where broader change is required – via the government, for instance – how do you think your organisation could push for such developments?
• Do you think there is a sense of ‘them and us’ for repairs and maintenance staff in your organisation? If so, are there any ideas included in this article which could be applied to change that?
• What one point in this piece do you want to share with colleagues who may not have read it? How will you share it?

Summary

The UK’s shortage of qualified tradespeople has several consequences for the social housing sector. Among them is that it is difficult to recruit and retain repairs and maintenance staff. This makes it much harder to provide high-quality, safe housing to residents.

There are measures that individual social landlords could take to attract more people to repairs and maintenance roles – including a greater diversity of people. These include promoting more inclusive environments, considering the structure of financial incentives, creating formal progression routes for repairs and maintenance staff, and working with local schools and colleges to increase awareness of the trades as a career option.

The scale of the problem is such that national action will be required to fix it long term. In the meantime, the social housing sector should take action to increase the number of people in repairs and maintenance roles.

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• Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Property Maintenance Operative apprenticeship summary 
• Kingfisher and The Centre for Economics and Business Research (2023), ‘UK to lose out on £98bn of growth by 2030 due to shortage of tradespeople’ 
• The UK Trade Skills Index 2023
• Watkins, W. and Hochlaf, D. (2021), Skills for a green recovery: A call to action for the UK construction industry, Institute for Public Policy Research

Mark Coogan is head of repairs and maintenance at St Leger Homes.

Liz O’Connor is director of homes at Yorkshire Housing.

Paul Longman is head of major projects at South Essex Homes. 

Russell Thompson is an independent consultant and chair of Direct Works, a membership group of 100 social housing direct labour organisations.

Mike Wilson is treasurer at Direct Works and director at Tristar Consulting. 

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