Learning at the Housing Academy: My experience

I joined Orbit as CEO in July 2023 with a very steep learning curve ahead of me. I’d already been CEO at three previous organisations ranging from offender rehabilitation to welfare to working at the UKs largest debt advice charity. However, apart from serving on the board of Raven Housing Trust for six years prior to joining Orbit, this was my first registered provider role so I was very much in need of some technical training.

Choosing what to study and why 

When the professionalisation of the industry changes were announced with the competence and conduct requirements encapsulated within the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, it was likely that I would need to have at least a level five qualification so thought I might as well get on with it! So, I undertook the Level 5 Diploma in Housing and then the Professional Practice Skills for Housing which enabled me to apply for chartered status at CIH as well.

Meeting the high expectations

When I started I underestimated how academically technical and thorough the course would be; it certainly needs to be taken very seriously. The one thing I was surprised by was that the assignments don’t have a pass rate, the requirement is to satisfy every one of the learning objectives; you can write a good paper but not be quite there on one element and this would earn a REFER grading. This means resubmitting the paper with improvements, followed by a nail biting three- or four-week wait for the result. This grading structure makes it highly likely that you will need to re-submit at least a few of your assignments. 

This rigour, along with strict rules on utilising the Harvard Referencing structure means that the learning is very thorough and papers have to be well researched, referenced and carefully written within a tight word count. This means students are learning a lot about both housing and academic paper writing! All in all, however, it is a very worthwhile study process and the one-day tutor days with the Online Plus study method, are both friendly and very constructive.  

Fitting study around work and life

I tended to put one day a weekend and one evening a week into the diary over the 12 months, which along with the tutor days was just enough to get everything done. This definitely impacts work/life balance but that was very clear when signing up to the course. 

The lasting impact

Taking this qualification has really filled in some technical knowledge gaps for me and made connections across topics that I previously hadn’t picked up. The level of qualification will be necessary for my role and is therefore imperative for me continuing in this amazing sector.

One big takeaway

If giving advice to others who are about to take on a CIH qualification, I would say don’t miss the tutor days that come with the Online Plus study method. Make sure your boss knows that you will need some time to do the course work and don’t get despondent when you get REFER grades, most people do!