Get a home, get a job

What can be done about the Neets? These are the people who are not in employment, education or training, hence their acronym. They have dropped through society’s safety nets, have to be supported financially long term and are for a host of reasons a source of growing government concern. They are a source of concern for the affordable housing sector too, as Neets are inevitably their tenants. Fewer than half of social tenants of working age are actually in employment, according to 2006 statistics.

The government is piloting a series of initiatives that link housing and training, by offering employment advice and support to tenants. John Hills’ review for government, Ends and means: the future roles of social housing in England, which was published earlier this year, puts the case for making such a link more widespread, using housing tenancy to help people into work and using upgrading or building of homes on tenants’ doorsteps to provide training and jobs.

Anne Kirkham, head of the Decent Homes division at the Department for Communities and Local Government, summed up the concern at a recent debate hosted by property services business Apollo Group, saying: “Worklessness is becoming a key theme for government. Its agenda is about transforming people’s lives. Lots of landlords are creating training opportunities.”

Reaction from affordable housing

But ask affordable housing providers how they feel about linking housing and work, and they are less welcoming. RSLs know the idea is not likely to be universally popular with tenants and not always suitable. One RSL senior executive says: “More than half of the people we house are elderly women. A lot of our occupants have two or three jobs on the black market. Conditional tenancies are a non-starter. RSLs must not be seen as the panacea.”

Gordon Perry, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, is equally sceptical that such a link could prove effective. “This is not going to deal with the problems of the poverty trap,” he says.

Those at the sharp end of delivering training alongside regeneration make it clear that their job is not always easy. Some housing projects have been able to recruit local people and bring them through training. Liverpool’s housing market renewal pathfinder, where housebuilder Bellway Homes found applicants far outnumbering places, is one notable success.

Others tell a different story, like John Fisher, partner with housing adviser Ark Consultancy, who says: “We’ve provided significant training opportunities, but have had limited success with them. We’ve struggled to do it under the Decent Homes programme.”

Plugging the skills gap

There is clearly the potential for unemployed people to plug some of the skills gaps in the construction industry, but many factors are working against the initiative. First, the involvement of local authorities, affordable housing providers, other agencies, contractors and subcontractors in, say, the average refurbishment programme for Decent Homes, can leave many players uncertain of who is driving the training agenda. Peter Exton, development director at Tower Hamlets Community Housing, points out that his RSL is one of 57 working in his borough.

Then there is the issue of where to actually provide the training. Perry explains: “It is quite complicated for landlords to offer training as their stock is all over the place. But it shouldn’t be housing’s job to get people back into work.”

The construction industry is also at the moment happily filling its vacancies with overseas labour. Bob Sankey, vice-chairman of Chelmer Housing Partnership, says: “Some contractors only employ experienced people. Perhaps we need more encouragement for them to train?”

Collaboration is the key

So what could the housing association sector and others do to help get more tenants back into work? Many agree that the success of training initiatives lies in collaboration, but with one organisation clearly taking a key role, and there is little doubt about who that player should be. “The local authority is the only one who can be the strategic partner,” insists Exton.

But that doesn’t mean that others can take a back seat. As Gary Couch, chief executive of Apollo Group, says: “You have to make sure everyone knows training has to be delivered. It has to be in the tender document from day one.”

Like others in the sector, Apollo is doing its bit to attract young recruits into the industry, with such tactics as drawing attention to construction movers and shakers featuring in the Sunday Times Rich List to make the point that a career in construction can be lucrative.

But Alistair Queen, chief executive of Southern Horizon Housing, part of Amicus Horizon, asks: “Why don’t we design courses round people’s aspirations?” Queen points to one training initiative that appears to have an answer: the Constructing Futures First Footings initiative in Brighton, which provides guidance on working in construction and taster days followed up by training courses for 16- to 24-year-old Neets and the older long-term unemployed. It is highly successful, says Queen. “It has been running six-week taster courses in construction skills and attendance has shot up.”

Cathy Deplessis, chief executive of arm’s-length management organisation Stevenage Homes, agrees: “We need to talk a language people understand. Construction does offer opportunities for people – it is a matter of trying to get the message out there.”

All this means effort, but it is worthwhile, says the CLG’s Kirkham: “I’d encourage housing to get involved in training more strategically. It won’t solve all the ills, but it is important because housing is all about people.”