How to train the Jedi way?

A good friend of mine has recently decided she wants a career change which has subsequently caused an uproar by her close family members. This has left me wondering about how people chose the career they have. I, for one, only decided I wanted to go into Marketing at the age of 21 after leaving school after A-Levels to go to agricultural college and attempt, what later turned into, a failed career in the Equine industry (once I realised that for me, horses were a hobby that should be left as that!). I then took up an admin job for an e-recruitment solutions company which gave me an insight into all the different industries and roles available – which is when I realised a career in Marketing was for me – and my experience in the recruitment industry has helped me adapt to marketing a specialist online job board.

More and more nowadays we’re seeing people changing their career paths later in life, and younger people generally avoiding embarking on their career as they’re not entirely sure what it is that they want to do.

I can’t help but wonder why it is that the younger people of today’s societies change their mind so often – many going to University because it is the “done thing” despite them not fully intending to have a career in whatever it is they’re studying. Are young people today given too much choice? Careers that never existed years ago have emerged with job titles getting more bizarre by the year – and universities and colleges offering degrees in subjects I’ve never heard of. The Independent released a list of “weird and wonderful university courses” which noted that traditional English University, Durham, offers a unit in “Harry Potter and the Age of Illusions” as part of their Education Studies degree. Similarly, Queen's University Belfast offers an open learning course in “Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way”. The Independent stated that, “the course teaches the real-life psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks, as well as examining the wider issues behind the Star Wars universe, like balance, destiny, dualism, fatherhood and fascism.” No offense to anyone who has studied these subjects, but I struggle to see how this can add to ones career path?

I’m interested to know people’s thoughts on this matter. Have you always known you wanted to work in the Housing industry? Or did you just ‘fall’ into it? Perhaps you’re looking to kick start a career in the industry?

Should people really be frowned upon for not knowing what they want to choose as their career path? Is it not better to change your direction in aid to be happy within your role, or should people stop thinking the grass is always greener and “crack on with it”?

Social Media for Social Housing

Figures have been released today showing that social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become the most visited websites in the UK reaching around 2.4 billion visits in January 2011 alone.

Here at Housing Jobs, we recognise the importance of social media, including within the social housing industry. We’re talking about an industry where people are its core value, so what better way to communicate than through a social means that is easily accessible to most? Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn provide you with the opportunity to interact with your tenants and stakeholders. Here’s some tips we’ve come up with to help you build / improve your social media strategy:

Engage your audience…

For social media platforms to be effective, organisations need their audience to interact with them, otherwise all their content will fall on deaf ears. To do so, you need to understand what your followers, fans and readers want and subsequently learn to how to engage with them.

Create a social media strategy…

To use social media successfully, you need to think about your objectives and your audience. Without knowing these, your social media will fail as the content will be targeted incorrectly, and therefore irrelevant.

Use a blog…

Few people realise that blogs have actually been found to be the most effective form of social media. You can direct traffic from all your social media platforms to your blog, and then onwards to your website. This not only expands your social media presence, but will also help with your search engine optimization (in layman's terms, how high up you rank in search engines such as Google).

Create social media guidelines…

Many organisations worry about the risks with social media, in that any content has a direct effect on the reader, and therefore anything negative written about your company on an employee’s behalf could have serious consequences. It is, therefore, important to create guidelines to prevent this. Social media guru, Todd Defren, has created an example of a Social Media Guidelines Template that you can use for your company…

I hope this is enough to encourage you to develop your social media. For examples of our platforms, please click on the following links…

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

(Please note: our Facebook page is currently under development - a job search application will soon be available which will allow our fans to search Housing Jobs from the Facebook page!)

Good luck!! J

iHobo - the homeless charity application for iPhones

We’re quite the fans of social media platforms and new ideas here at Housing Jobs – as you may have gathered! I’m also a big fan of iPhones, so much so I’m rarely seen without mine by my side. Which is why, iHobo, the iphone application that allows the user to interact with an animated homeless youth, developed by advertising agency Publicis London for Depaul UK, is something that really stood out to me.

The application challenges the user to look after the homeless person for three days, making decisions on his behalf in order to keep him off drugs and stop him getting ill.

The iPhone user has to provide food, warmth and support whenever the application sends alerts straight to the iPhone. The app also provides info on the homeless person’s health, including their body temperature, calorie intake and how many alerts the users has missed.

The aim of the app was to highlight the charity to a new market segment.

"We wanted to reach that elusive generation of young, affluent donors who tend to exist in a world defined by their mobiles," Publicis creatives Tom Ewart and Adam Kean told MediaWeek magazine.

The application also allows for the user to make donations to Depaul UK.

iHobo has consistently received praise through the “App Store” and Depaul UK reports that following the 600,000 downloads, there has been an increase in the amount of supporters of the charity.

The application is a refreshing change to the usual shock tactic advertising charities use to try raise awareness and subsequently gain donations, and it is the perfect example of an innovative and incredibly well targeted marketing campaign.

The  organisation is fresh in my mind when I think about homeless charities, and I absolutely love the challenge of trying to take care of the homeless character. It has definately raised my awareness - and hopefully will raises yours soon too!

iHobo 1.1 has been launched today which allows you to integrate the application with your Facebook page, as well as personalisation, information on homelessness and a league of care. To download the application, please visit…

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ihobo/id364005732?mt=8

Source: The Independent, DepaulUK

The Annual Andy Ludlow Awards is now open for nominations

The awards celebrate innovation and good practice among organisations tackling homelessness in London and are now in their 13th year. Social landlords, borough housing departments and health and voluntary organisations across the capital are all eligible to apply.

Housing directors at London’s local authorities established the awards in 1998 in memory of Andy Ludlow, former director of Housing and Social Services in the London Borough of Haringey, who died at a tragically young age.

The London Pathway claimed the prize last year, an organisation who give homeless people access to proper healthcare. The London Pathway has reduced hospital admissions of homeless people to University College Hospital by 3.2 days per patient, which equates to savings of £300,000 a year.

Since winning the awards last year, the London Pathway has gained wider recognition and is being rolled out to other hospitals later this year, both in London and outside.

The awards are ran by London Councils, and funded by the London Housing Foundation, the Mayor of London, Shelter and all of the London boroughs.

First place will receive £25,000, and the two runners-up are to receive £10,000 and £2,000 going to three shortlisted projects.

To mark the 21st anniversary of the London Housing Foundation, a special award of £15,000 for the best use of volunteers is also available to this year’s entrants and past shortlisted/winners of the Andy Lodlow Award.

London Councils executive member for housing, Mayor Sir Steve Bullock said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations working with the homeless to get a financial boost to help them take their services to the next level.

“We ask all organisations helping the capital’s homeless, whether they be local authorities, part of the NHS or voluntary groups, to take the time to apply for these prestigious awards”.

Don Wood, chairman of London Housing Foundation commented:
“Over the years we’ve seen the Ludlow Awards benefit a great many deserving organisations, and this year the London Housing Foundation has brought another award to the table.

“In celebration of our 21st anniversary, we are offering an extra prize of £15,000 - open not just to this year’s entrants, but also to past winners and shortlisted groups. We wish all entrants the very best of luck.”

The closing date for entries is 12pm on Tuesday 10 May 2011.

The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, 20 October 2011.

Any organisation wanting to find out more about the awards or to apply can go to

http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/policylobbying/housing/homelessness/andyludlow/default.htm

Source: HousingExcellence

Devonshire Housing Association receive grant towards homelessness project

Housing Association, Westcountry Housing, has been awarded £40,000 towards a new project which will help homeless people find a new place to live in the North Devon area.

The project, Westcountry Smart Move, will work with and support both landlords and clients seeking accommodation, to ensure that both sides are able to enjoy a trouble-free tenancies.

A range of tools will be on offer from the project, including financial incentives and active support, to help people move into tenancies and become good tenants. Equally, landlords will have access to support and be encouraged to work towards sustainable, long-term tenancies.

Divisional Manager, Bill Allen said, “We will use the grant award to secure tenancies for 30 people who would otherwise be facing homelessness.  With the award, we will be able to offer some financial support to tenants and landlords to secure an initial tenancy in the private rented sector.”

“The award will also allow a specialist worker to support both tenants and landlords to ensure that the tenancy is well maintained from both sides, and that both tenant and landlord work positively to make the tenancy a long term commitment that benefits them both.”

The Westcountry Smart Move adds to another number of homelessness projects in North Devon which are managed by Westcountry Housing. All the projects combine to offer people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness a real opportunity to re-gain control of their lives.

The area of North Devon is an area of low wages, high house prices (in relation to wages) and a limited stock of social housing. The private rented sector is hugely important in the area, and this project will work towards ensuring better outcomes for tenants and landlords alike.

This local grant is part of a Crisis funding awards scheme of £2million for 49 new projects throughout England, that will help single homeless people find new homes and subsequently lasting independence.

Each of the individual projects will receive a grant of up to £50,000 each for the coming year and will target individuals who often struggle to find accommodation, including ex-offenders, young people under 25 and people living in temporary homeless hostels.

The Crisis programme is being funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government. The homelessness charity has more than a decade of experience in helping homeless people find new homes in the private rented sector.

Crisis Chief Executive Leslie Morphy said: “Single homeless people rarely meet the criteria to acquire council accommodation and finding a flat in the private rented sector can be a complex and expensive option. They need advice and help, but in many areas of the country, these specialist services are simply not there.

“Crisis asked local voluntary organisations to bid for these new funds so that we can kick-start the establishment of new private rented sector access schemes. These schemes will help people overcome financial barriers, match them to good landlords and help more individuals avoid the perils of homelessness.”

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "I have made clear that while it is vital that we tackle the record Budget deficit we inherited, we must also ensure that the most vulnerable people in society are protected.

"That's why we have maintained the level of Homelessness Grant in the Spending Review, and for the first time we've brought Ministers from across eight different Government departments together as a working group to ensure that the complex needs of the homeless are being met.

"So I am delighted that we have also been able to back these local projects supported by Crisis to the tune of £2.25 million. This will give single homeless people the chance they often don't get of a helping hand towards a stable home and long term independence."

Source: 24dash.com

Housing Association create 100 new jobs

Here at Housing Jobs, we're very pleased to hear the Statford-based Housing Association, Orbit Heart of England, has extended its maintenance and repairs team, creating 100 new local jobs.

The Orbit Heart of England property matters team, which is now 170-strong following the recruitment of 50 new members, is responsible for maintenance and improvements to 14,000 properties across the north and south Midlands. The new employees gathered at the DCS Stadium in Stratford this week to collect their new uniforms, pick up their new vans and undergo induction training.

The Housing Association currently employs more than 700 people mostly in the Midlands.

Paul Clifford, maintenance director, said: “Becoming part of our property matters team gives tradespeople access to top level training across all areas of their work as well as experience of working with sustainable technologies.

“It also gives our residents peace of mind that the people working in their homes have been trained to the highest of standards.”

Once completing their inductions, the employees will join the existing property matters trade team to deliver repair and maintenance services for Orbit Heart of England customers who are based across the north and south Midlands.

To see which other organisations are currently recruiting, have a look at the Housing Jobs website.

Source: Housing Excellence, 2011