Inspiring careers in housing across Greater Manchester with the 20% Movement

Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHPs) recently joined forces to host careers events in their communities throughout March, aimed at encouraging their customers and other social housing residents to consider a career in the sector. The 20% movement aims for 20% of Greater Manchester Housing Providers’ workforce to be tenants by 2034.

The initiative is based not just on raising aspirations; but on the principle that the sector should better represent the communities that they serve, and that lived experience is an invaluable asset to be brought to the table. The events were hosted by the housing providers in community centres across Greater Manchester, in the heart of the communities that many of their customers live in. They involved representatives from a range of professions in the sector – serving to broaden horizons and share experiences.

The leading housing associations included: Jigsaw Housing; Southway Housing; Great Places Housing Group; Clarion; Onwards; Together Housing; ForHousing; Stockport Homes; Wythenshawe; One Manchester; First Choice Homes Oldham; and Beone Homes (whose event took place later, on 29 April). Each took a lead in organising the content and activity, with all events including opportunities to speak to employees about their roles – in the form of speed networking, drop-in sessions and advice stands. Attendees could get a sense of job opportunities in the fields of HR, caretaking and grounds maintenance, operational roles and apprenticeships, housing support and development.

In addition, some events included ‘day-in-the-life’ videos, interactive activities to get attendees thinking about the range of roles in housing; ‘workplace bingo’; and many also offered one-to-one support with CV-writing. This was bolstered by other partners in attendance such as Hays Recruitment, as well as Wythenshawe Community Connector Events, who ran a larger event attended by 200 residents alone.

435 tenants were engaged across the events. Roughly 30-50 attended each one, with at least fifteen job applications completed directly on the back of them – as well as many more talent pool sign-ups, referrals and course enrolments.

Feedback was excellent, with some residents commenting:

I was impressed with how I was greeted and set up with someone to talk to, just after giving a quick insight of my current situation and role. [It was] super friendly and relaxed.”

“… they explained the work process, made me feel good, and gave me hope for getting a job soon.”

“[It was great] being able to talk to individual team members about their job roles, getting an insight into what working within the housing sector is like.”

“I came here today with an open mind, and I’ve now registered my interest to apply for two different apprenticeship roles – they both would push me to learn new skills, which is great!”

“The welcoming seminar was really helpful – most events are just tables to walk around.”

“Hearing similar stories made me much more confident about getting into work.”

Onward Homes’ Sharon Chuunga took part in one of the events in Salford, and commented:

A lot of people don’t know what a housing officer does, so we’re here to enlighten them… there’s a lot of challenges but it’s a varied role – no two days are the same, and for someone who doesn’t want that rigid 9-5, this could be the perfect job for them.”

Alison Dean, CEO of Great Places and current Chair of the 20% Movement, commented:

This is an initiative I believe really strongly in. It’s important that our organisations reflect the communities we serve, and it’s great to see the commitment of several Greater Manchester Housing Providers to really put the wheels in motion for this over the past few months of planning, collaborating and delivering such successful events with fantastic turnouts. Many in our communities face a range of barriers to pursuing a career, and not just in our sector, and a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to tackle these – I’m confident we can achieve the 20% goal in the next decade.”

ForHousing’s Michelle Tomlin-Flack, who took the lead in organising the full cohort of 20% Movement March events, will soon be taking over the role of Chair, with Alison Dean to continue as theme-lead with GMHPs. Michelle commented:

It’s been fantastic to see such a large number of housing providers come together through the Raising Aspirations events. Being involved in shaping these events has been a brilliant experience, especially working alongside so many committed partners who share the same goal – raising the aspirations of tenants and supporting the 20% movement.

“One of the real highlights was speaking to our wonderful tenants, as well as hearing from so many colleagues across different organisations who shared their career journeys, what their roles involve, and what it’s really like to work in housing. Their openness and enthusiasm truly inspired our tenants to consider future careers in the sector.

“The feedback from the events has been incredibly positive, and as a direct result, we’ve seen an additional 22 tenants apply for the Tenant Talent Pool at ForHousing. This shows the real impact we can make when we come together with a shared purpose.

“I’m really looking forward to picking up the reins as Chair and continuing the momentum we’ve built together.”