About the Housing Sector
The housing sector: it’s nice work
Housing is a sector with one aim: to improve people’s quality of
life and invest in communities where people love to live and work.
Good quality housing is so essential to human life, that there are
very few other industries to work in that make such a difference to
so many. People in housing feel good about what they do, every day.
They see the results of their work all around them. They know what
they do is meaningful. And that’s nice work.
But here are a few more reasons why housing has one of the
lowest staff turnover rates in the UK:
- Job security (the sector is set to grow by 35% over the next
few years)
- Pay and conditions compare better with the private sector than
you might think. When they don't, training and development more
than make up the shortfall
- Flexible working hours
- Sheer variety of roles on offer
- Average starting pay for graduates in 2001 was £19,500
- Eye care vouchers for computer users
- Maternity/paternity cover
- Final salary pension scheme
- Sick pay - six-months full and six-months half pay
- Free car parking
- Generous holiday package
- Discounts at high-streets stores
- Family friendly initiatives.
If you care, you can do it.
80% of people working in housing think it's an exciting and
challenging place to be. And if you’ve got good literacy, numeracy,
IT, driving or communication skills, there’s nothing to stop you
from joining them. Being able to use your own initiative, organise
your workload, work unsupervised and show a real passion for people
is as important as specific experience. These transferable skills
are essential to handling the difficult situations we face every
day. If you’ve got the right attitude, you could build a long and
valuable career in anything from marketing to maintenance.
So what exactly do the 80,000 people employed in the sector
do?
They:
- Identify housing needs in the community
- Advise people about rents, benefits and buying
- Process applications or housing improvements and repairs
- Allocate homes to people - including transfers and swaps
- Carry-out or oversee repair and maintenance programmes
- Set and collect rents plus recover arrears
- Deal with housing benefits, applications and eligibility
- Help bring residents back into society by investing in services
that build self-esteem and skill
- Supported by all the executive and professional services you'd
find in any other business or organisation.