The power of work experience to attract the next generation of housing professionals

Enticing more people to join the sector, is essential but often looked. The current presidential campaign, CHOOSE HOUSING, is about showcasing what a career in housing can offer, and the resources toolkit gives everyone the ability to advocate for the amazing opportunities this sector offers.

One way we can look to spread the message is to offer more work experience in the sector. That’s exactly what Fairhive did for Oscar. In this short piece, Oscar’s dad Chris shares the story of how the work experience went, and it is a powerful tool for advocating housing as a career of choice.

My eldest son Oscar secured a work experience placement last year with Fairhive, a local housing association in Buckinghamshire.

The backstory is that Oscar and I met with Fairhive at the Bucks skills show in 2023, the year before Oscar was due to carry out work experience. Being the enthusiastic parent, I traipsed him around the hall, having the odd conversation with representatives about career opportunities for school leavers. It must have been very overwhelming for a 14 year old who didn’t really know in which direction he wanted to go… I remember the days well.

Working in the sector, I was drawn to the Fairhive stand and a met a gentleman who took the time to talk to us about the organisation and their career opportunities. John Wallbank, assistant director of people at Fairhive spoke passionately about young people and career paths in social housing. It was encouraging to see a senior person, leading from the front at the event.

John and I exchanged LinkedIn messages and he put me in touch with Nina Banks who would facilitate Oscar’s work experience application, working closely with the school careers advisor.

Oscar gained valuable experience, working across multiple departments: housing (lettings), development, property and governance. He was provided with an upfront work experience schedule, mapping out his five days with insights into what he could expect.

His week at Fairhive went quickly and the experience he gained was invaluable; although he did say “Dad, being in the office wasn’t for me but I really enjoyed being out on site”, having spent some time with the property and development teams.

The whole process from start to finish was excellent from a parent’s perspective. From the initial conversations through to asking for feedback on his week, Fairhive cared about providing the best experience they could offer. This in turn led to a positive experience and one which Oscar shared with his teachers, friends and family members.

It may be that Oscar doesn’t choose housing as a career, but the positive experience he shared with others might just raise awareness and get people talking – one conversation at a time.

A huge thank you to Fairhive for creating such a welcoming environment and positive experience. A possible blueprint process for others to consider as we encourage more to ‘Choose Housing’.

John Wallbank  |  assistant director of people, Fairhive

It is really encouraging to hear the positive experiences of Chris and his son, Oscar, throughout Oscar’s work experience with us. We are passionate about how we develop opportunities in the housing sector and how we can help individuals, who come to work with us, to gain wider exposure to different roles across the company. I was pleased that Oscar found his time spent within our team useful and informative, helping to shape his future career pathway.