View publication - Chartered Institute of Housing

PART ONE: LEARNING TODAY
MSc Housing Studies, there is a responsibility to ensure housing practitioners today have
the framework they need to undertake, with competence and confidence, such diverse
tasks as working with private sector landlords, negotiating on development
opportunities, advising customers on welfare reform, planning for new homes and
collaboratively commissioning services, as well as the technical, legal and management
functions that are needed.
Engaging with employers
At DMU we talk to employers in our region about the skills and knowledge they think
are necessary and important for housing staff to meet the new challenges. This is done
in a variety of ways, for example an annual event we hold at DMU in partnership with
the CIH East Midlands Board brings together a large group of professionals. I am also
involved in the Higher Level Skills project run by Asset Skills which supports networks
between Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and employers. Together, DMU and Asset
Skills have run seminars, such as one for Midlands housing employers in March 2013 on
‘The Future of Housing Education – 2020 Insight’. Participants at that event were asked
what they wanted from higher education courses; this was not focused on curriculum
content but more generic issues. Employer responses suggested they wanted a course
which would achieve the following outcomes:
• Enhance research and enquiry skills.
• Increase personal effectiveness and good communication.
• Develop critical thinking skills and intellectual autonomy.
• Work increasingly across disciplines.
• Meet the needs of employers.
In addition employers wanted housing education which was of good quality as
determined by the reputation of the HEI and the expertise of tutors, and they wanted
flexible modes of delivery and value for money. There was a debate on course
accreditation by a professional body and this was seen as something more important to
the individual student than the employer per se.
The question: ‘which professional body?’ was raised by participants suggesting that,
increasingly, organisations like the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Institute of Leadership and Management
(ILM) were relevant to them – CIH is not the only game in town. There is clearly work
that CIH, in partnership with HEIs, must do to make organisations see the value in
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