How Scotland’s Young People Could Solve the Housing Crisis
As Scotland marks Scottish Apprenticeship Week, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) are urging young people to pursue a career in housing.
Against the backdrop of a housing crisis in Scotland, the two organisations have come together to express the necessity of recruitment in the sector when it comes to meeting future challenges, and as such have relaunched their careers website, Your Career in Housing.
SFHA, who represent 95% of housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland, has said that investing in young people will be hugely beneficial in delivering future social homes.
The site features educational material about roles in housing
Following its relaunch, the Your Career in Housing site features not only job opportunities, but also educational content providing would-be apprentices insight into the various roles in housing, and testimonials and advice from housing professionals on how to begin a career in the housing sector.
Pupils from around Scotland helped to create much of the new content available on the site by taking up multimedia roles including filming various professionals recounting their journey into their housing career.
Louise Moules, SFHA’s Director of Operations and Membership, said: “We hope that Your Career in Housing encourages young people to pursue the varied and rewarding opportunities that a career in housing has to offer.
“The hands-on experience you get through apprenticeships is simply invaluable in developing skills and knowledge. Given the challenges Scotland is experiencing around housing, we know that the recruitment and retention of young people will be key in delivering the homes the country desperately needs.”
Callum Chomczuk from CIH Scotland said: “Scotland’s housing professionals are at the heart of our sector and the range of different roles make housing an extremely varied and rewarding career choice.
I am delighted that for this year’s apprenticeships week that CIH Scotland and the SFHA are celebrating the careers across the sector and highlighting the great work of Scotland’s social landlords.
“To meet the challenges of the future we want more and more young people to choose a career in Scotland’s housing sector. I hope the resources we developed and ‘Your Career in Housing’ website provide information, support and insight to young people about why they should choose a career in housing.”
Apprentices have backed the launch of the new site
With its varied content including roles and opportunities, the site has been supported by current housing sector apprentices, and offered their insights into the housing sector for future cohorts of apprentices.
SFHA administration apprentice Adian McLeary, 18, said: “My experience so far in housing has opened my eyes to a lot of things going on in our country.
“It’s a sector that isn’t talked about enough, but I’d definitely recommend it to others as I’ve found it really interesting since starting the job. There’s a friendly, hard-working environment and it’s definitely something more teenagers should know about.”
Echoing these sentiments was Lauren Herd, who during her apprenticeship has been able to experience multiple roles and is now encouraging other young people to consider housing apprenticeships, arguing that the job can run alongside going to university.
“I started out as a maintenance administration apprentice, I then had experience in our customer service department before progressing back into maintenance as the administrator responsible for our tenants’ health and safety,” Lauren said.
There are hundreds of housing associations and the good thing about them is that they want to grow their own staff, meaning they nurture and progress you by getting you the training you need.
“You may not feel ready for university now [after leaving school] but you can always go to university whilst working in housing as they’ll support you if you want to do a degree in housing or maintenance for example, it’s a great sector to grow and progress in.”
