The leap to Level 5

When I completed my Level 4 Certificate in Housing in the summer of 2019, it was with the knowledge that the Level 5 Diploma would loom in the background until I made the decision to bring it centre-stage. Being something of a completist, I had returned to my studies with the understanding that getting part-way to a new qualification would never be enough. So, with the promise of Chartered membership available upon passing the Level 5 course, I embarked on another year of study in February 2020.

If the Level 4 qualification can be summed up as expanding the learner’s housing knowledge, whereas Level 5 looks at why that body of knowledge takes the form it has. It challenged us to think about why we provide housing in the way that we do, and how we would do it better if we had different resources or legal opportunities. We compared how our own organisation works against how others work, how organisations and teams can be led or managed in different ways. Looking at how other countries provide social housing and the reasons why they do so – are they the same as our own nation? If not, how and why are they different?

The Level 5 course gives learners the opportunity to explore the grand plans and the small details of housing services, and to consider the ethical and moral forces which drive that provision. It enables learners to take a critical look at their own career and their place in their employer’s operational plan, and how they contribute towards local and national goals of housing provision. In this way, its focus is more on learners considering how they understand the work that they do, and how their organisation operates within the wider housing world.

The course is presented online in a well-structured way through Moodle, so it’s easy to chart your progression through the reading material. And it’s not just reading material – there are videos and presentations to watch, and quizzes and tasks to undertake to test your understanding and apply what you have learned to real-life situations. Reading material comes from CIH, other housing organisations, and non-housing organisations, so there’s a wide variety of approaches and opinions to get to grips with.

The course is also designed to encourage learners to look to the future. The final module (for learners who did not study the Level 4 qualification) requires learners to assess their skills and capabilities and their career progression so far, considering plans for continued learning and continued professional development (CPD). Through CPD and chartered membership of CIH, the opportunities to keep skills and knowledge up to date will ensure that learning will not stop once the qualification is gained.

If you’re interested in getting started with a housing qualification, why not discover what’s on offer by visiting CIH’s Housing Academy?