The unsung heroes of repairs and maintenance

So, having had my ear firmly bent last week about the way everyone ignores the work that direct labour organisations do in many housing associations, I thought it would be easier to write about it myself than try to persuade hard-nosed journalists to pay attention.

The event at which I was cornered was an awards ceremony for an organisation called the Direct Works Forum. For those of you who – like me, I have to admit – tend to put DLOs into the category of things they don't want to know about and that are more trouble than they are worth, this was quite an eye-opener.

Not only was there a story to tell of success and achievement, but the ceremony also addressed many of the issues that we need to take seriously if we are to deliver the Communities Plan over the coming years.

The Direct Works Forum has only been around for the past five years but it now has 80 members from housing associations and some local authorities, owning or managing some 350,000 homes between them. It organises a series of regular seminars devoted to asset management and building maintenance.

The breadth of topics covered is comprehensive – including better procurement for the benefit of Sir Peter Gershon, director of the Office of Government Commerce, and his team investigating ways of cutting public sector administrative costs.

At this particular ceremony, the awards were for the apprentice of the year. Did you even know that there are more than 300 apprentices currently being trained on recognised programmes under the Direct Works Forum scheme?

There were three winners, one for each year of the scheme, plus an overall winner and – at the risk of embarrassing these impressive individuals – I'm going to name them and describe what they do.

I tend to put direct labour organisations into the category of things that are more trouble than they’re worth, so this awards ceremony was a real eye-opener

The overall winner was Craig Ballantyne from Chesterfield Borough Council, an apprentice carpenter and joiner who also took the third year award.

One of the things that impressed the judges about Ballantyne was that in addition to the courses he had to take to complete his apprenticeship, he was paying for others out of his own pocket to enhance his skills still further.

The second-year winner was Ikram Hussein from Pennine Housing, a multi-skilled tradesman who was intending to specialise as a plasterer. Hussein is deaf and his brother had taken the day off to come with him in order to sign the day's proceedings before going back to work a night shift in a biscuit factory.

The first-year award went to Hayley Gudge-Russell, an apprentice electrician from Somer Community Housing Trust and, yes, a woman – as was last year's winner, as it happens.

So, do I need to spell out why this is so important? Creating employment; training, not only to meet skills shortages, but also to attract those who might not otherwise come into these particular trades; meeting tenants' needs for well-maintained properties; sharing best practice across the entire country; collaboration between housing associations and local authorities; looking at improved procurement methods; a totally practical approach to diversity.