‘Social housing is a sector full of opportunities’: Inside Housing launches Housing Hires campaign
Inside Housing today launches its Housing Hires campaign to promote the social housing sector as a place to work and support people to find and develop careers with housing associations and councils. Editor Martin Hilditch sets out the campaign’s aims
Earlier this month, in front of a conference hall packed full of finance professionals, Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), veered into something approaching a recruitment drive for the sector.
“Let’s try and make the sector a place that people want to work,” she told delegates at the Social Housing Finance Conference. “Let’s not demonise it.”
Why might recruitment and retention be on the RSH’s mind? Well, there was a clue earlier in her speech.
“Providers continue to report labour shortages,” she stated, “in particular in relation to repairs and maintenance, which is slowing delivery in a period in which we continue to see both increased investment in improving the quality of existing homes and forecasts in stock investment also continuing to increase.”
Recruitment and retention is something that has risen to the top of the agenda for Inside Housing, too. In an election year, and after a tough period for the sector, we think it is more important than ever to shout about the contribution it makes in society. Our survey of housing association risk registers earlier this year revealed that recruitment and retention is seen as a significant strategic risk for the sector – and any struggle to attract the best new staff or hold on to quality is bad news for tenants and social landlords alike.
For that reason, we are launching our Housing Hires campaign, which sets out to promote the range of opportunities in the sector and why it is a great place to build and develop a career.
Martyn Shaw is deputy chief executive at housing association WDH, and an early backer of the campaign. As he puts it: “Social housing is a sector full of opportunities.” We agree. And it is time to shout about it because the sector is in a battle to attract and retain people with the skills it needs to plan for the future.
So, what does Housing Hires set out to do?
We will be looking to share the very best practice for recruitment and retention. We start this month with a look at how WDH has set out to create the “workforce of the future” in its 2025 business plan, and how its partnership with a local college is seeking to deliver on those ambitions. We also report on a scheme aiming to increase opportunities for ethnic minority people to work in London’s built environment.
And we will also be carrying out research to identify skills gaps and future skills needs in the sector, or amplify the work of others, such as the London Homes Coalition’s Building Skills for the Future initiative.
We are also pledging to work with Leadership 2025 to promote its work to develop Black, Asian and minority ethnic leadership in the sector – and we will be working with Jacque Allen, CEO at Your Housing, to develop a network for new leaders (more on this next month).
Housing Hires campaign aims
● Promote the sector as a place to work
● Share best practice and ideas about how best to recruit and retain staff in social housing
● Identify skills gaps and future skills needs in specific parts of the sector
● Promote the next generation of talent in the sector and give them a platform and networking opportunities as part of our 40 Under 40 list
● Support the Jobs Fair at Housing 2024 and Homes
● Work with groups of housing providers to tailor our CPD content to meet your needs
● Partner with Leadership 2025 to promote their work to develop Black, Asian and minority ethnic leadership in the sector
● Support and help create a new leaders network and discussion group
● Support and promote the Thinkhouse Early Career Researcher’s Prize
Our 40 Under 40 list, launched as part of Inside Housing’s 40th anniversary in March, will look to highlight the next generation of talent in the sector and give them a platform and networking opportunities. At the time of going to press, more than 200 people had nominated a colleague or member of their wider network for inclusion. We will also continue to offer £40 subscriptions to people in the first year of their housing careers as part of our corporate subscription packages.
We will be looking to work with organisations in the sector to increasingly tailor our CPD coverage directly to the needs of housing managers and executive teams. Please give me a shout at martin.hilditch@insidehousing.co.uk to get involved.
We will continue to support the Housing Jobs Fair taking place at Housing 2024 in Manchester in June and the London Jobs Fair at the Homes conference in November – great opportunities to promote the sector to a wider audience and fill some of those skills gaps.
We will continue to partner with Thinkhouse to promote its Early Career Researcher’s Prize, which is open for entries for this year and is a great opportunity for new researchers in the sector to build their profile and promote their work to a wider audience.
Most of all, through these initiatives and others we will promote the sector as a place to work, and argue for its resourcing as we build up to the general election.
Campaign backers
“We know people entering the workforce now really care about the purpose of prospective employers. Social housing can offer that in spades. In these challenging times, we need the best people to help us navigate them, so Housing Hires is a long-overdue initiative.”
Tracy Harrison, chief executive, Northern Housing Consortium
“Social housing is a sector full of opportunities. The sector makes a real, tangible difference to people and communities, which can’t be underestimated. We are proud to be nurturing the next generation of employees through initiatives like our T-level and graduate placements, and our Training for Employment programme.”
Martyn Shaw, deputy chief executive, WDH
“We welcome this initiative to promote the sector as a place to work and highlight efforts of landlords to attract and retain staff. For some time, we have been losing colleagues to other sectors, so while promoting the sector, we also need to work on initiatives to retain our talented workers, especially diverse staff. We look forward to working with Inside Housing and others to make this initiative a success.”
Olu Olanrewaju, chair, Leadership 2025
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Calling all job seekers
For all those looking for a career with purpose, the Housing Jobs Fair will bring together the largest recruiters in the region and those looking for opportunities to pursue a long-term career in a sector that supports local communities.
The Housing Jobs Fair is free to attend and all potential job seekers will also have the opportunity to visit the Housing 2024 main show floor and sessions throughout the day, focusing on why you should choose a career in housing. For more information, click here.
