Nearly 10 years ago, in 2016, the Farmer Report titled “Modernise or Die” was published, highlighting major structural problems in the construction sector, including labour shortages, poor industry reputation, inadequate training and a lack of strategic oversight. This report culminated from a number of underlying issues that had been building for years: An ageing workforce, where a significant proportion of the construction and housing workforce was nearing retirement age; declining apprenticeships as fewer young people entered trades such as plumbing, bricklaying, and surveying; and, the legacy from the Right to Buy scheme that reduced the stock of social housing and shifted focus away from long-term investment in public housing infrastructure.

The Construction Sector Deal (published in 2018 as part of the Industrial Strategy) aimed to address productivity and workforce issues by investing in skills training, but recruitment difficulties continued in housing management, compliance, and technical roles, exacerbated even further by the pandemic.

The Skills and Training Working Group (as it was called then) was set up to help the housing maintenance sector find workable ways around these challenges. Through my work with Rand Associates and the NHMF, I was asked to lead the group, building a core team including Lindsay Parker (A2 Dominion), Debbie King (MK Consult), Simon Bernstein (Empathy Transformation), and Liz O’Connor (Horton Housing). While it began as a training working group, it quickly expanded to address broader issues such as culture, recruitment, and retention within the sector. The group’s direction has been shaped by the interests and expertise of the members and has continued to evolve as new challenges and opportunities have arisen.

The full team includes:

• Chris Patient (Head of Consultancy, Rand)
• Lindsey Parker (Head of Asset Investment, A2 Dominion)
• Liz O'Connor (Housing Director, Horton Housing)
• Debbie King (Recruitment Specialist, MK Consult)
• Simon Bernstein (Social Housing Coach & Trainer, Empathy Transformation)
• Duncan Palmer (Head of Locality Operations (Severn), Platform Housing)
• Alex Hammond (Head of Learning & Development, Gentoo Group).

Together, the Skills, Training and Culture Working Group has undertaken several key initiatives and has formed some strong links with like-minded organisations in the sector.

Housing 2024 round table

One of the first major events the group hosted was a “skills” roundtable at Housing 2024. Joined by 26 people, attendees represented a diverse range of roles across housing, recruitment, training, compliance, and property services. It was a really valuable session for collaboration and hearing diverse viewpoints, leading to open and interactive discussions. Through sharing knowledge and learning from each other, the session provided real insights into sector-wide issues and success stories, whilst giving exposure to different approaches and best practices.

Naturally, discussions were centred around three key topics: Culture, Recruitment & Retention, and Skills & Training.

Culture

Asking questions around what does “good” look like when it comes to organisational culture, the following were pinpointed as integral to building an organisation where people want to work:

• Core Values: Honesty, respect, trust, inclusivity, diversity.
• Leadership: Leading by example, clear communication, consistency.
• Team Development: Mentoring, induction, recognition, growth opportunities.
• Accountability: Addressing poor performance, calling out toxic behaviour.
• Environment: Collaborative, supportive, stable.

Recruitment & Retention

When it comes to recruitment and retention in the sector, we’re challenged by the negative perceptions of trades, the ongoing skills shortages and competition with other sectors that offer more “attractive”.

We all know what a fantastic place the social housing sector is to work and the opportunity available to build a career in any discipline, but this message needs to be shouted about louder. Here are some of the solutions explored at the round table:

• Engage schools, parents, influencers.
• Use social media (TikTok, Instagram).
• Offer good pay, rewards, flexibility, career progression.
• Promote diversity and inclusion.
• Build sustainable partnerships and modern apprenticeships.

Skills & Training

The career opportunities in housing are diverse, but training must be there to support the transition. These might include:

• Modern Apprenticeships: Fit for now, not outdated models.
• Leadership Development: Management training, role modelling.
• Soft Skills: Communication, customer focus.
• Continuous Learning: Mentoring, reverse mentoring.
• Sector Knowledge: RSL operations, consumer standards.
• Personalised Learning: Tailored to individual needs.

The discussion and feedback from the Housing 2024 session have very much shaped the agenda of the working group ever since.

Collectively, we’re on a mission to shout about what a great sector we are. We’re supporting initiatives like the NHMF’s new mentoring scheme, the CIH #ChooseHousing Presidential campaign, created by Elly Hoult, which leaves a fantastic legacy for us to follow, and CIH Futures which is creating a community of young people looking to shape the future of the sector.

Events

We’ve represented the NHMF and the wider sector at numerous events, the latest being the Raise Up Youth Summit that I attended alongside Liz O'Connor and Debbie King in October.

Raise Up is a one-day social mobility and youth summit for a hopeful future, connecting young people with 100s of employers, together under one roof. Re-energising social mobility in the UK to support future economic growth, the event created a real buzz and was full of motivation with contributions from speakers and professionals across all kinds of roles and employment.

We were there hosting our stand alongside Callum Abdallah and Pamela Clifford from Evolve Facility Services Ltd, and the turnout was fantastic! We had the opportunity to speak to so many young people about what we do - the perfect place to highlight what an incredible place Social Housing is to work and to encourage the next generation to join us.

Podcasts

Building on the theme of sharing, the group has created podcasts exploring skills, training, recruitment and career opportunities in Housing. From a round table with group members (https://youtu.be/tx1Pyxbx2Y8?si=9XYf9ySO150yMj_C) discussing Recruitment, Culture and Training to a conversation with Duncan Palmer (https://youtu.be/7pRf0kniHaA?si=xKtfveUUp4o7LK7E)  about his inspiring career journey from tradesperson into senior leadership. Picking up on the theme of engaging more with schools, Simon Bernstein also met with some year 9 students (https://youtu.be/LGeUNnRlJPM?si=J_CWAS_S4SoU3nwM) to understand more about their school, life and their view on the world around them to help us understand how to inspire them.

Where next?

Training, skills and culture remains very much on the agenda. We’ve still got an ageing workforce and there’s still more work to do around apprenticeships in maintenance and construction. The sector as a whole needs about 280,000 apprentices, but only around 20,000 are being filled each year to replace those retiring. And there is typically a 20–40% drop-out rate in apprenticeship programmes.

It has been reported by organisations like City & Guilds, Housing Forum, and Mobysoft, that last year up to 76% of construction firms were struggling to hire and there is a “critical skills shortage” across housing-related disciplines with a need for over 200,000 new workers by 2029 to meet housing targets.

This is against a backdrop of building legislative pressure.

The Building Safety Act brought in an industry-wide shift, accelerating the focus on safety and promoting a culture of accountability and transparency. There is increasing scrutiny across the board: workforce compliance is key, with technical training refreshers for site professionals; duty holders (designers, contractors, principal contractors, etc.) must demonstrate compliance through training, qualifications, and continuous professional development; more Safety-focused training (fire safety, structural integrity) is required.

The new Social Housing (Regulation) Act has introduced stricter compliance and safety standards like Awaab’s Law, increasing demand for skilled professionals in asset management, repairs and tenant services.

The NHMF Working Group for Skills, Training and Culture is on a mission to support the sector in tackling these challenges head on. We’re called Working Groups because that’s precisely what we’re doing – working, not just talking and meeting – to help create a better social housing landscape.

Want to be part of the conversation…come and meet us at the NHMF Maintenance Conference in January where we’re looking to run a plenary session around apprenticeships. This year the event theme is Safe, Warm & Healthy Homes and as an organisation, we’ll be proudly celebrating 25 years of uniting the sector to drive excellence in maintenance and asset management.

Book your tickets now: https://www.nhmf.co.uk/conference/