Young housing sector leaders from The Housing Forum’s Futures Network have launched a campaign to open up the housing sector to a wider range of participants.
‘Build Your Future In Housing' is a campaign to connect with school leavers, skilled workers and employers to promote the range of careers and opportunities in housing.
The campaign will consist of a range of podcast, video and infographic materials promoted over social media. These media were created in partnership with production partners Mediorite and Co-relate, who provided production and marketing expertise to the project.
Through personal stories and compelling information, the campaign will boost the profile of housing as a career path, bust stereotypes and support organisations’ own recruitment campaigns.
A recent report by the London Homes Coalition has shown significant skills gaps in areas like asset management, and research by the Construction Industry Training Board has shown a need for 251,500 skilled workers by 2028.
The new government is also seeking to improve skills provision across the country, with the creation of Skills England announced in July.
In this context, it is more important than ever to have an active effort by the housing sector to recruit the next generation of talent into the sector to build the homes of the future.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Hayley Hayes, Futures Network Chair 2023/4 said: “For anyone working in the housing sector, we recognise there is a skills shortage in UK construction. Recruiting people into the sector and then retaining them is the biggest challenge.
“Over the last 12 months, the Futures Network have been working on several projects, reaching out to the wider sector and beyond, to really try and understand the challenges around the skills shortage.
“The Futures Network have produced another fantastic product, consisting of podcasts to provide insights into the best practices for promoting strong workplace cultures within the housing sector.
“Discussions around recruitment practices that are fit for the future, how can we raise awareness to the sector by harnessing the positives and demystifying the negatives to encourage youths to choose construction as a career. And the need for up-skilling in a face paced sector that is constantly evolving its regulatory landscape.
“I am incredibly proud of the dedication and commitment the Futures Network have given this project, the hard work has certainly paid off and I can not wait for it to be shared for everyone to enjoy.
Shelagh Grant, Chief Executive of The Housing Forum, also said: “As the new government looks to increase the delivery of new homes, now is an exciting opportunity for the housing sector to step up to meet this skills demand.
“By showing how the sector can provide well-paying jobs with clear social impact, we have the chance to deliver a new generation of sustainable, high-quality homes, and at the same time train a new cohort of skilled workers with a bright future ahead.
“The Housing Forum is glad to support The Futures Network, a group of the most talented of our young members, in leading the way in the key discussions of the industry. We look forward to seeing the impact of their project.”
