Housing Today’s Good Employment report has highlighted innovative recruitment strategies in the housing sector aimed at improving diversity and addressing skills shortages.
The report focused on actionable steps rather than policy changes, drawing on contributions from leaders across various housing organisations.
The report’s first chapter outlined changes in hiring practices to expand talent pools and rethink job entry into the sector.
This included exploring untapped talent pipelines, remote working options and initiatives like the ‘Rooney’ rule which aim to ensure diverse candidate representation.
Another focus was Barratt Redrow’s outreach to students about careers beyond traditional trade roles in housebuilding.
By partnering with over 1,200 schools, Barratt Redrow plans to recruit more applications from under-represented groups.
Paradigm Housing Group prioritised age inclusivity, working with Rest Less to support older workers.
Barratt Redrow is also rethinking eligibility requirements, hiring candidates based on potential rather than academic background.
Andy George, group head of talent management, said the firm re-evaluated hiring requirements for related degrees in its graduate programmes, opening up opportunities for a diverse applicant pool.
In social housing, providers recognised the value of lived experience, as seen with Greater Manchester Housing Providers’ pledge to recruit 20% of its workforce from social renting households by 2034.
Elaine Johnson, director of people at Great Places Housing Group, said this acknowledges that personal experience is as valuable as technical skills.
Berkeley Group has replaced traditional CVs with digital role assessments for apprentices and graduates, using the Thrive Map platform.
Catherine Hawkett, group future skills manager at Berkeley Group, said the approach includes tasks that engage candidates while assessing their suitability, finding that it helps increase diversity in recruitment.
Catrin Jones, chief people officer at Clarion Housing Group, noted the importance of authentic storytelling in recruitment.
Jones said: “It’s so much more compelling to hear it from the people doing the job than for us to simply say, ‘It’s a great job.’”
Clarion’s push for purpose-driven storytelling aims to attract talent in a competitive job market.
