View publication - Chartered Institute of Housing

DELIVERING HOUSING LEARNING IN A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT
employing members who have undertaken accredited housing programmes. CIHCM on
a CV should stand out as a beacon of quality; it should say to employers that this
person has the skills of research and enquiry necessary to undertake a range of roles
across the housing industry.
At a prior meeting of the DMU/Asset Skills network in October 2012, employers were
asked more about curriculum content – ‘what housing subjects should students be able
to master as a result of their study?’ The diversity of roles in the housing profession was
reflected in their answers, some of which included:
• Housing development.
• Land economics.
• Private rented sector.
• Customer skills and insight.
• Finance and budgets.
• Planning.
• Health and social care.
There is a diversity in the subject content needed by practitioners in the housing
industry, especially so in the current tough environment. Learning organisations need to
reflect this diversity in their curriculum but they also need to offer variety in the method
of delivery too. Technology is increasingly important in delivery, especially for supported
online products like the CIH MSc programme which I lead on. Students also need to be
supported in using technology to enhance their learning, rather than it being a further
obstacle. We must not be blinded by technology and the diversity of the curriculum
needed though – core skills such as independent research and enquiry and also critical
analysis are vital in enhancing the quality of the skills level in the housing industry and
we place great emphasis on this, particularly at postgraduate level, here at DMU. I
would argue that delivering housing education is not about ‘teaching’ topic areas –
instead it is about developing skills of research, analysis and communication that can be
applied in a variety of circumstances. At DMU we are increasingly thinking in terms of
providing the scaffolding that students need to have in place to build their own
learning, which is of relevance to them and their organisations.
This scaffolding can be in the form of traditional courses, such as our part-time
face-to-face Foundation Degree in Housing and Sustainable Communities, or it might
be through supported online learning programmes such as the courses we run in
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