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Whose responsibility is it to professionalise our sector?
The government’s Competence and Conduct Standard does not appear to form any sort of long-term workforce strategy or overall plan for housing, writes Halisha Kaur, chair of CIH Futures
Halisha Kaur is chair of CIH Futures
With the government recently announcing updated guidance on the Competence and Conduct Standard, now is the time to discuss the long-term impact it may have for the sector’s future workforce.
As with many in the housing sector, CIH Futures welcomes the introduction of mandatory qualifications for certain roles in housing and believes it’s an important step in acknowledging the importance of housing as a profession and the high level of both skill and knowledge required to be in a senior position within the housing sector.
It’s been especially great to see Jill Murray, president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, champion the professionalisation agenda through her Be EPIC campaign, which emphasises the importance of qualifications and continuous development.
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However, there’s no doubting that these changes bring extra pressure and expectations at a time when resources and capacity are already spread thin and the sector is working flat out just to stand still, let alone get ahead and begin to fix the housing crisis.
Without a long-term workforce strategy, the sector could lose pace with other industries when it comes to attracting high-quality and highly skilled staff and leaders.
Ultimately, the Competence and Conduct Standard was announced in isolation by the government and does not appear to form any sort of long-term workforce strategy or overall plan for housing.
“There’s no doubting that the sector needs to adapt as it faces an extended period of accelerated social and technological change”
Given there are areas of the sector with significant recruitment and retention challenges, it’s difficult to predict if we will have the suitable skills and capacity to actually solve the housing crisis without a long-term strategy in place.
All of which begs the question: is this a role for the government, or should the sector take control and shape its own UK-wide workforce strategy?
If we were to form our own plan for the sector’s workforce, what vital components would be required?
Clearly, an overall recruitment strategy is needed to determine who will be joining the sector and from where.
To build a comprehensive strategy, we need consultation of a multitude of key stakeholders. However, any effective workforce strategy must deliver:
- An initial estimation of long-term workforce needs and the educational resource necessary to meet those needs
- Development of apprenticeships and career paths for younger people to leadership roles
- Investment in transferrable skills to capitalise on the growing trend of portfolio careers
- An assessment of the demographics of the current workforce and a commitment to improving the diversity of the sector’s overall workforce and in leadership roles specifically
- Investment in IT and AI technology to bring greater capacity and future proof the sector
- An expansion to the number of paid board roles available to younger and first-time board members
Organisations will also need think even more about workplace culture. With recent predictions from the International Longevity Centre that the retirement age will extend to beyond 70, organisations may need to consider how they bridge the growing age gap between generations in order for them to innovate and adapt to the continuing technological changes.
There’s no doubting that the sector needs to adapt as it faces an extended period of accelerated social and technological change. However, with a concerted effort to ensure it continues to invest in younger housing professionals, build those important routes into a housing career and invest in transferable skills, we can ensure we have the right people in place to meet the challenges we’re presented with.
But whose job is it to form this plan: the government or the sector itself? Whoever does take this forward, CIH Futures will be ready to work with them to ensure that the views and insights of young housing professionals are at the centre of forming a workforce fit for the future.
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