Today (15^th August), 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, 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.

Mash Halai, Managing Director, John Rowan and Partners commented:

Congratulations to The Housing Forum’s Futures Network for launching its ‘Build Your Future In Housing’ campaign today.

As part of the affordable housing sector and understanding the importance of investing in our people, we know it’s vital to have a skilled workforce, across all areas. So, campaigns like this one that inspire a new generation of school leavers, skilled workers and employers into the sector, will only help create a workforce that’s capable of building all the new homes we desperately need.

With a new government, the creation of Skills England, and campaigns like Build Your Future in Housing, the future is looking positive for the housing sector.