Regional focus: South East
Richard Gelder, Director of Hays Social Housing, provides an insight into employment opportunities for social housing professionals in the South East.
Current trends
Although 19% of the country’s affordable housing stock is located in the South of England with the South East in particular having a severe backlog of housing need. To address this the region is currently following proposals to build 200,000 homes which means that the region’s social housing market is very busy to say the least, and therefore there is an increased need for experienced professionals across the sector.
For example, the Solent Gateway development between Portsmouth and Southampton, will bring another 140,000 homes through shared ownership, leasehold and market rental options. However, it is still expected that there will be a shortfall of 1.1million homes by 2020.
This high level of activity, combined with the prospect of more development to meet the housing shortfall, is contributing to the growth in permanent employment opportunities across the South East. It is also influenced by the current trend within the housing sector for mergers to provide new organisations further scope for expansion and therefore develop their teams and staffing levels. As such, permanent employment is often the preferred option. Employers are becoming less likely to expect the ‘finished product’ and more willing to invest in training.
Across the UK, a number of housing associations have formed development consortiums, to increase the likelihood of obtaining funding from the housing corporation for new projects. The South East has not escaped this trend, with large consortiums being created such as Respond, Wayfarer and In-Kent Alliance. Similarly, new ALMOs and Housing Associations are being formed with the same objective of achieving greater funding.
A growing trend is for professionals to move around organisations in a timeframe of around 2-3 years, rather than the previous 6-10 years. Not only does this increase contractor pay rates, but it puts pressure on employers to introduce innovative new methods to retain employees. For example, flexible working is becoming more commonplace.
Who's in demand?
Across the region, there has been a particularly great demand for the majority of development roles, including development officers, development managers and generic housing officers. Additionally, individuals with homelessness skills are also highly sought after. This follows national initiatives to actively reduce homeless numbers.
Professionals with senior management experience are in strong demand, particularly where reorganisation and mergers have occurred. Interim contracts are popular, so particular skills can be brought in by an organisation for a fixed period of time or a particular project. As mergers increase, it is anticipated that the popularity of fixed term and interim contracts will grow. Often, this is also the case for interim service managers, who aren’t employed on a permanent contract because of the instability of funding. For example, it is expected that some of the funding in the south will be redistributed to the north. Plus, the allocation of funding for supported professionals is generally short term and so cannot be guaranteed to continue.
High demand for particular social housing roles is likely to be influenced in the coming years by the Thames Gateway development. There are concerns that it will create a drain of professionals to a small, specific area in the South East and that the surrounding cities will suffer. However, on a more positive note, it is estimated that around 35% of new homes built in the Thames Gateway will be for social rent and that the impact on creating local jobs will be substantial.
Money matters
Social housing employees in the South East have witnessed a greater focus on their overall employment package rather than a dramatic increase in salaries. Salaries for development officers and roles which require homeless experience have risen the highest, due to the acute shortage of these workers. For example, a development officer in the South East can expect to earn around £27,000 while a housing officer in a supported housing role can typically earn £24,000.
Overall, salaries for the majority of roles have been stable over the past twelve months and remain above the national average. This is not the case for temporary workers, where rates have increased because of the shortage of suitably experienced employees. Of course, we have not yet started to see the full impact of the Thames Gateway development, which will undoubtedly have an upward effect on salaries.
For further information, please contact Matt Whitfield, Manager of Hays Social Housing, on 023 8022 7033.
