How to gain the skills you need to work in housing

Undertaking a housing qualification with the CIH Housing Academy is a surefire way to make sure you’ve got the right skills for your housing career. In this article, we outline the skills you’ll gain, whether they’re housing-specific or useful for all aspects of life. 

Listening and comprehension

A big part of learning is listening and understanding what’s being said, whether that’s the explanations your Housing Academy tutor gives, a problem a colleague shares, or an issue a tenant needs you to investigate. If you’re studying one of our online qualifications, you’ll learn to comprehend and summarise written information quickly, while an online-plus qualification will develop your skills in retaining both written and taught information. As a housing professional, you’ll often have a lot of detailed information thrown at you at once, so it’s important you have the ability to sort through and find the key issues quickly. As you study with the CIH Housing Academy and your knowledge grows, you’ll get better at sifting through the facts and figuring out what’s important.    

Problem-solving

There’s lots of problems to solve when you’re doing a housing qualification, whether you’re trying to figure out when you can study, trying to understand how to structure an assignment, or how to apply what you’ve learnt to your day job. All this practice at problem solving will equip you for when you might have to sort out complex situations for tenants, often on a tight deadline. 

Perseverance

Qualifications can be tough, especially if you’ve got the added pressure of qualifying within the timeframes of the Competence and Conduct Standard in England. By pushing yourself to achieve something great, you’re proving that you can do hard things and developing resilience that will help you as a housing professional. Former CIH President, Julie Haydon highlighted the importance of building up your tolerance for challenging situations when working in housing through her Rooted in Resilience campaign, and taking on a qualification is one way to do this. 

Time management

Undertaking a qualification on top of your day job and daily life teaches you a lot about time management, fast. Juggling all of these responsibilities will help you prioritise your tasks and get to the bottom of what matters. It can be challenging at first, but once you get into a rhythm, you’ll be more organised and a master at planning. When your qualification is finished you’ll still have these skills, so you’ll be better equipped for large caseloads, sudden deadlines, and anything else your housing job throws at you! 

So, what qualifications do you need to work in housing?

There’s no one-fits-all answer to this question. Regulations vary depending on the nation you work in, your level of seniority, and your organisation’s size and purpose. For English professionals, our Competence and Conduct toolkit can help you understand what you need to do to comply with the standard. Take a look at a list of our qualifications here and have a read through your options before deciding what’s best for your career. Whatever level you decide to undertake, the universal skills you gain from studying will serve you well in your profession and in life.