Housing employers take on more apprentices

Feb 2011

An increasing number of housing employers are taking on apprentices to improve skills in the workforce.

Asset Skills welcomed the news as the profile of apprenticeships in housing increased during Apprenticeship Week 2011.

"In the past year a growing number of people, over 300 alone for the Joint Investment Programme, have registered onto the new housing apprenticeships we developed with employers," said Richard Beamish, Chief Executive of Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for FM.

The employer view

At the Peabody, one of London's largest housing organisations, there is a growing emphasis on housing officers taking on a broader role. The organisation understands how good training underpins effective service provision and, along with an increasing number of other employers, has committed to targets for employing apprentices. In the future they will make up 5% of all new employees.

"A tough economic climate often means that there is not always good news for tenants and our housing officers need strong communication skills to explain this," says Stephen Howlett, Chief Executive of Peabody and board member of Asset Skills.

"Apprenticeships offer a really good balance between the practical and the theoretical side of housing. We can see people learning on the job by working alongside others with lots of experience - and having the opportunity of a structured training programme."

As well as driving up skills in the existing workforce Peabody hopes that apprenticeships will attract people to housing as a career of choice.

"It's about being a 21st century organisation. The best housing organisations have been trying to work like this but now there's a new drive and an imperative. Our staff need customer service skills as a first requirement - offering a warm welcome and a positive first response. But they also need technical skills and know-how to back this up."

For more information on housing apprenticeships contact Catharine Hinton, Housing Adviser at Asset Skills, by emailing chinton@assetskills.org or phoning 07554 452 286.

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