Your chance to shape the sector’s future

I first became aware of CIH Futures in 2019. The group, put together to inform CIH’s work with younger housing professionals, had just launched their new under 30’s CIH membership rate. This was groundbreaking for the sector, but also to me personally. CIH membership wasn’t something that my employers had funded in the past and was out of reach for me financially at the time, being early on in my career. So, the introduction of a new special rate for under 30’s gave me the chance to finally become a CIH member and make use of all the membership benefits to enhance my career. This was the first experience I had of CIH Futures changing the sector for the better, and I kept updated with their work from then on.

Later that year the chance presented itself to apply to join the CIH Futures board - I jumped at the chance to join a group of people keen to make a difference in the housing sector and sent off my application. After an interview process, I was invited to join the board and gratefully accepted.

First thing on the agenda? A trip to Wales, of course!

My visit to Newport coincided with CIH’s 2019 annual general meeting (AGM), marking the end of Jim Strang’s period as CIH president and the beginning of Aileen Evans’ time in post. It was an inspiring day, seeing important housing figures outline their vision for the sector and the critical role CIH plays in this. During my first meeting with my new CIH Future’s board colleagues, we discussed and decided on our priorities for the upcoming year and work we wanted to deliver to shape the sector for the better. We left there with the best laid plans... 2020 came along and changed everything.

However, in true Futures fashion, it didn’t all end there. Despite challenges and pressures to keep things going during a pandemic, we did just that. Supporting each other to keep things moving, and by the time 2021 came around CIH Futures burst back to life at the Housing conference in Manchester. Futures led sessions on the fringe stage, and took part in Aileen Evans’ presidential campaign to raise money for Mind, climbing 24 peaks in the Lake District in 24 hours, which ended up raising over £30,000 in the process.

Since then, Futures has gone from strength to strength, adding new members, bringing in more diverse voices and future sector leaders to our roster, and continuing to shape and influence the future of the sector. We have crafted our four foundations that we work to, launched the online CIH Futures Network events (join our LinkedIn group if you haven’t already!), held socials during housing conferences, launched a podcast and wrote several pieces for housing sector media, including Housing Today and Inside Housing – with much more planned to come. Just this year, several of our current and former board members were named in Inside Housing’s 40 under 40 list to recognise their work in the sector so far.

So why have I written you a potted history of my time on the Futures board? Simply because I couldn’t have imagined being involved in any of this when I first started in the sector in 2014. This began as a job upon leaving university rather than a career and I rarely looked beyond my day-to-day role, let alone the wider sector. However, with my CIH membership my worldview expanded immeasurably, and so did my opportunities within the sector as my professional network grew.

The Futures board offers a unique opportunity to meet others that you might never have met, to work together making improvements, sharing your voices and influencing the sector.

It wasn’t just my worldview that expanded. Through Futures I’ve had opportunities I never would’ve imagined, met people I’d only ever read about, and I can safely say that my involvement with Futures has built my network of peers and improved my own professional standing within the sector. I’ve made friends, and I feel as though I’ve made a meaningful difference in my time on the board. Without a doubt my involvement has led to job opportunities too. What’s really meant a lot to me is that my time on the Futures board has given me the chance to advocate for a profession and a sector that I really believe in.

As Jim Strang said during that morning in Newport at the 2019 AGM, “Housing professionals can make a bigger difference in people’s lives in one day than most other professions ever do”. I truly believe that CIH Futures offers young people in the housing sector their greatest chance to do just that. We need to promote careers in housing in Scotland. We need a strong, diverse and thriving Scottish social housing sector. We need a sector that works with and for young housing professionals. It’s time that Scotland had its own board to help do this and advocate for a profession and improving its impact for tenants and communities.

So don’t just do yourself a favour, do the Scottish housing sector a favour and get involved. You have a unique voice and perspective, and we need you to share it. This is a great opportunity for developing yourself whilst making a difference with other young professionals in the sector. If you know someone who would be great but lacks the confidence to put themselves forward, get in touch. If we work together, we can build a Scottish Futures board that represents the best of the future of the sector.