The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
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Aspire Housing in Newcastle-under-Lyme owns almost 9,700 properties and since it started in 2000 its workforce has leapt from 220 to 364.
Aspire's vision is to be a leading provider of quality homes and a catalyst for transforming communities.
It set up a simple but effective way to ensure that repairs and maintenance to their properties were not only completed to a high standard but in the quickest possible time, minimising disruption to residents.
The 130 tradespeople with responsibility for improving and repairing Aspire's homes are gradually being put through a training programme to multi skill.
The scheme provides them with the skills needed to avoid having several different people on one job.
For example plumbers are taught how to plaster walls so they can not only remove radiators and replace pipe work but also repair the damage behind.
"We started the scheme with a budget of £10,000 increasing it to £15,000," says Debbie Lightfoot, Aspires Learning and Development Adviser.
"We hope that the scheme will increase customer satisfaction and provide Aspire's staff with a greater portfolio of skills."
The plan now is for all Aspire's tradesmen to go through this training with the potential of the organisation being able to outsource their knowledge and services locally to other organisations.
A building has already been acquired which will enable the association to train in-house.
"The aim is to become a centre of excellence," says Debbie Lightfoot.
"We want to showcase the benefits of providing our staff with a wide range of skills to enable them to deliver the best possible service to all our customers".
