Gaining more credibility for myself and my company - Alistair's story
After 17 years in the housing sector, and 12 years as Chief Executive – why would now be the right time to get a professional housing qualification?
Alistair has been Chief Executive Officer at EHSL for 12 years, and started his Level 4 Property Management Apprenticeship with The Learning Foundry last year.
We caught up with Alistair to ask him why now is the right time for training...
“I’m about halfway through my course now.
“My role requires involvement in all aspects of the company’s operations, but there was so much I learnt about the housing sector that I wouldn’t have encountered outside of the course. Development of housing policy, and the history of funding structures – things like that that give context!
“Everything we’ve done on the course has been either directly relevant to my role – or interesting to someone who works within the sector.
“I decided to do my own training when I was looking at the training needs for the wider team. Up until last year, we’d done shadowing and internal training, then some online courses, but it felt like we could do more.
“I wanted to be able to increase our training and development offering to our staff.
“When we found out more about apprenticeship funding, the grants that were accessible to us, we thought we’d make the opportunity for an apprenticeship available to our staff. We had lots of initial interest within our organisation and lots enrolled onto apprenticeships in levels 3 and 4.
“Before doing this course I had no professional, accredited housing qualifications so I thought it would be beneficial for so many reasons.
“If I’m qualified it shows others within the organisation that they can progress their careers – even within a small company in the housing sector.
“It gives me, and my company credibility. To be able to say you’re qualified means a lot – even just putting the letters after your name! It gives people confidence in you as an individual – and your organisation.
“Being able to demonstrate you’re upskilling the team – giving them the resource to obtain a useful qualification demonstrates our commitment to staff – it’s a good thing to offer to people who are serious about a career in housing.
“When we were looking for training, The Learning Foundry found us. We got in touch after seeing an email and then signed up – it was easy.
“I found learning on the job quite manageable. I was always looking out for activities, meetings, where I was developing my skills or learning something new, then you can class that as your on the job learning hours.
“I’ve learnt a lot about myself as a manager. The professional development module gave me a lot of ideas around reviewing work both myself and within the organisation.
“Being a manager in my organisation went from firstly managing a team of two to now having a team of 40, so learning more about my management style and other aspects within the organisation was very beneficial.
“I always felt supported. My Development Coach was always there for me, pushing conversations about challenges within the sector.
“Studying with The Learning Foundry gives you the flexibility to explore what you’re interested in. Assignments can be tailored to your experiences and your interests. It’s up to you to pursue the areas you want to pursue. That’s obviously different for different people across the sector.
“After I complete my Level 4 qualification in November, I’ll be progressing onto the Level 5 – and others within my organisation will be, too.
“I would recommend this training to anyone else working within the housing sector.
“It’s an opportunity for networking, the courses and sessions are collaborative with other housing organisations who do both similar and different things within the sector.
“You’ll gain knowledge and context to the work that you do.”
With impending changes as a result of The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, now is better opportunity than ever to get training – for you and your teams.
Find out more about The Learning Foundry’s training offer for the housing sector, here.