How did you first hear about jobs in housing?
After finishing my degree, during my time with TREE, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive was advertising for Management Trainee's in the Belfast Telegraph. Until then I hadn't really considered housing as a career as I was unaware of the possible career paths and opportunities that are available.
How did you find further information about a career in housing?
I was completing the Belfast Met's Catalyst programme at the time and my mentor was able to give me lots of information and coached me on useful interview skills. The college also put me in contact with a person who previously worked with the Housing Executive and they provided me with plenty of useful general information about the organisation.
What was it that appealed to you when you were thinking about a job in housing?
The graduate programme!
I wanted to get onto a graduate programme and until the Housing Executive advertised I hadn't seen any graduate programmes that accepted anything below a 2:1 qualification. This programme was open to all second class degrees.
Until I actually began the programme I didn't realise or appreciate the extent of the opportunities that would be available to me.
How did you get your first job in housing?
I saw the graduate programme advertised in the Belfast Telegraph and applied. I was invited to complete the aptitude and numeracy tests before being interviewed. This was a very competitive process with many graduates applying for 15 positions.
The interview was conducted by four of the NIHE directors. It became clear that I needed to be well prepared and would advise anyone to accept any interview coaching available through your university/college.
What personal skills and qualifications did you have that helped you secure your first job in housing?
Having completed the Catalyst programme through the Belfast Metropolitan College I had experience working in conjunction with the Greater Village Regeneration Trust through their social enterprise; Timber Recycling Eco Enterprise (TREE). This gave me relevant experience working with the community and gained greater understanding about the regeneration of the Donegal Road area. Through this programme I also gained valuable experience of working in a challenging role where I had to use my initiative to find solutions to difficult situations.
During my interview I was also able to demonstrate that I had some understanding of the complexities of housing.
What skills & training have you gained since you have had your job in housing?
As part of my graduate programme I have completed the Graduate Foundation Course in Housing and I am now finishing the Post Graduate Diploma in Housing. I also had a placement in the Chartered Institute of Housing for a month and have had the opportunity to work in a variety of roles throughout the Housing & Regeneration division.
I have gone through Common Purpose's Front Runner programme. This is a leadership programme that involved a number of high profile speakers that gave talks on relevant current issues and opened the opportunity for questions and debates. It also involved group work and set challenges that helped to develop leadership skills.
I recently went on the Scotland and Northern Ireland Young Thinker programme. This helped develop my presentation and public speaking skills and challenged my debating skills. I achieved Runner-up for Northern Ireland.
I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to complete these programmes to do so.
I have also completed a number of in-house training programmes that included:
Describe a typical day?
I am a Housing & Regeneration division graduate so I have had placements in the Area office, two district offices and Housing Policy. I have also spent time in the Information Department and working for Community Cohesion.
At the moment I am working on complex needs with the Area Welfare Officer for the North East. This involves working with complex need cases and making assessments on the points awarded. I am also involved in identifying the most suitable housing options for people with complex needs.
I am also putting together a good practice guide for good relations that will be distributed to all Housing Executive Districts on behalf of the community cohesion team. In doing this I have to liaise with community organisations and community cohesion advisors to find examples of best practice.
I am also taking part in a placement with Business in the Community Northern Ireland. This allows me approximately 100 hours to complete a project to write a Communications Strategy for Include Youth, concentrating on their Give and Take scheme.
The Area Manager sometimes sets me pieces of work. For example, investigating the performance of energy certificate completions.
I spend every Wednesday at the University of Ulster.
What would you tell people who are interested in a housing career?
You can't pigeon hole housing careers! Housing covers issues that aren't always directly related to housing. You can spend a lot of time working with the community and tackling lots of different situations. A housing officer does not just assess the need for a house, they also have the potential to rectify serious personal home situations.
I love my work with community cohesion as it gives me the chance to concentrate on solving issues involving whole communities. If however you would be more interested in business type roles, the Housing Executive is one huge business with lots of opportunities.
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