Regional focus: South West
Richard Gelder, Business Director of Hays Social Housing, provides an insight into employment opportunities for social housing professionals in the South West.
Current initiatives
Initiatives such as Choice Based Lettings and Private Sector Leasing are causing demand for staff across the South West to rise. A rush to complete property to the Decent Homes Standard is creating further demand for surveying staff. Activity looks set to continue with South Gloucestershire Council, Sedgemoor District Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council all in the process of either transferring stock or looking at this as a possibility in the near future. Indeed, all over the South West there is a high demand for skilled professionals.
The provision of suitable social housing is a particular issue across the region for a number of reasons including: the population growth has been high; residents have an ageing demographic profile, a large number of districts are labelled unaffordable and the number of second and holiday homes is considerably higher than the national average – creating difficulties for owner occupation. Over £350 million has been allocated for the provision of additional affordable housing until 2008, improving the quality of private sector homes occupied by vulnerable households and meeting the Decent Homes Standard.
Education and experience
However, despite this increased requirement, level of activity and government investment in the sector, awareness of social housing as a career remains low and less people are studying the discipline. For example, due to diminishing numbers, several colleges in the area no longer offer social housing courses. This has exacerbated the problem of an ageing workforce and is likely to create further problems in the future.
The lack of interest in the subject as a viable career option stands in contrast to the increased profile of issues faced by social housing professionals. ASBOs are constantly referred to in the media, are being issued at a rapid rate, and as a result professionals with anti-social behaviour skills are highly sought after.
There is also a continued demand for Housing Officers and Support Workers and a rise in demand for people with homelessness experience, housing advice specialists and technical staff. Due to the focus on meeting the Decent Homes Standard, Tenant Liaison Officers are currently highly sought after. Senior professionals with over three years' experience continue to be in particular demand, and because there are relatively few experienced professionals, they can command increasingly high salaries.
Unfortunately, despite it being an extremely competitive recruitment market in the South West, employers have not yet adjusted and remain unwilling to train junior employees. Offering training and development opportunities to those candidates who possess transferable skills will be vital if they are to maintain recruitment levels. Public sector employers should also take key pointers from the private sector, which is often more flexible with regards to employing staff with transferable skills.
Steve Peake, Regional Manager for Hays Social Housing, comments: “Employers should be more open to candidates who are an ideal fit with the company and who possess transferable skills, even if they don’t have the level of direct housing experience required. Experienced candidates are so hard to source and this situation is likely to worsen if employers don’t act now.”
Money matters
Aross the region, salaries for permanent candidates remain relatively high compared to the north, but have largely remained stable. Temporary rates however are increasing on an unprecedented scale. Peake continues, “Local employers should use agencies with local knowledge to prevent rates spiralling out of control – as is often the case when rates for the South West are set based on conditions elsewhere in the country. Currently, the market is so strongly driven by candidates that temporary staff can command high salaries and are being tempted away from taking permanent positions.”
We expect the upward pressure on salaries and the candidate-driven market to continue unabated. However, employers are not facing the situation and haven’t yet taken steps to increase the number of qualified and experienced candidates. This is vital if we wish to maintain the level of social housing activity in the region and continue to respond to increasing community needs for professionals with specialist experience.
For further information please contact Steve Peake, Regional Manager for Hays Social Housing, on 0117 929 7308.
