What does The Budget mean for the Housing sector?

Yesterday's budget announcement saw George Osborne reveal that stamp duty will be raised to 15% for properties worth over £2m that are sheltered within companies, and raised to 7% if bought by an individual.

The Chancellor also announced the expansion of the Get Britain Building scheme to increase the development of new homes.

There will, however, be a delay in the release of the National Policy Planning Framework. The framework is now scheduled to be released next Tuesday 27th March.

There have been numerous responses from yesterday's budget announcement...

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation:

"We welcome the chancellor's move to close the loophole that allowed wealthy individuals to buy properties through companies and avoid stamp duty. It meant people on high incomes could avoid paying tax on the purchase of expensive homes.

"However it is disappointing that the chancellor has failed to put investment in housing at the forefront of driving forward economic growth in the UK.

"Supporting housing associations to maximise the investment they make in building and maintaining homes creates new jobs, saves the government benefit payments, invests in local communities and boosts general economic activity. Few other sectors can offer this potential with such short lead-in times and the prospect of so much growth directly benefiting local communities.

"Boosting the housing sector would be an easy win for the economy, for taxpayers and for families. And with 4.5 million people on waiting lists and one million children in overcrowded accommodation a big boost for fairness too."

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter:

"Extra funding to boost house building is welcome, but at these levels will barely make a dent in our housing crisis.

"If the government is serious about getting Britain building, it needs to deliver serious investment to match. This would not only help the millions of hard-pressed families who face a daily struggle to meet their housing costs, but would support Britain's economic recovery by creating jobs and growth."

Mark Henderson, chief executive of Home Group:

"Land price is often the most significant chunk of cost when it comes to developing affordable homes and is often a barrier to the volume of social housing you can build on any one development. By ring-fencing public sector land and selling it at an affordable price for building more affordable homes it would allow social enterprises to build a far greater percentage of social housing on a site. Were the government to release this land on a 'buy now, pay later' basis, we can begin immediately to tackle the lack of social housing in the UK.

"We would welcome clarity around the role that REITs would play in social housing. There is potential for them to provide alternative sources of funding as well as improving cashflow for the further development of affordable homes but the sector needs to be clear about the wider implications of introducing these vehicles."

Source: Guardian

Ever thought about an apprenticeship?

Monday 6^th – Friday 10^th February is National Apprentice Week 2012; a time when all eyes are on apprenticeships and the profile is raised amongst employers, individuals, teachers, parents and the media. Over 500 events are taking place over the space of the week to help promote apprenticeships.

Are you considering an apprenticeship?

There are numerous benefits to undertaking an apprenticeship. Getting qualified on the job can also help you…

• Earn whilst you’re learning
• Work to a higher standard and more effectively
• Increase your transferrable skills
• Experience new and different challenges that you may not experience in full time education
• Build on your existing skills and knowledge
• Increase your employability and job security

Apprenticeships have to pay at least minimum wage, which at present is £2.60 / hour. However, the UK average net pay that an apprentice takes home is £170 per week.

Housing Apprenticeships

As a housing apprentice, your duties will very much depend on who your employer is and whether they’re part of the public sector, voluntary or private rented sector. You will undertake a range of tasks on a day-to-day basis, this could be assessing housing need in applicants, letting homes, collecting rents or managing development of new homes. The apprenticeship should develop your customer service skills, whilst educating you on housing management, lettings and allocations, homelessness and advice, supported housing, and repairs and maintenance.
 
Several Housing Jobs clients offer apprenticeships, such as Yorkshire Housing and Vela Group. These are advertised on the website when available. For further information on apprenticeships and to find out what is available, please visit http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Entitled to a job you love? Maybe it’s time to reassess…

Recent graduates and young people of today are of a generation raised by parents and teachers who were around to experience the finance boom of the 1980s, when dreams seemed possible with just a little hard work and dedication.

Popular, ‘trendy’ industries such as those in the media – film, tv, music and print – all have the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on which way you look at it) of not having to pay competitively to attract talent. Despite this, young people today continue to spend thousands (and even more so come September 2012) on university education on a degree that they are passionate about – rather than a degree that is practical and has a stronger guarantee of a career come graduation day.

Organisations in the music industry receive thousands of speculative CV’s each month, for non-existent jobs. I doubt the same can be said for the ‘less-attractive’ industries such as manufacturing, accountancy, or housing.

Media has nurtured us to think that way. Songs with lyrics about achieving your dream job, not working 9 - 5, films causing us to believe that such careers are easy to achieve – that all it takes is a little hard work and commitment. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, there are several external factors affecting your career, the major one being the current economic climate. So, unless you are fortunate enough to be well connected (“it’s not what you know, but who you know”), then perhaps it’s time to settle for a career in something that you perhaps don’t love quite as much, but still enjoy and pays adequately.

Recent years has seen an increase in the amount of housing subjects being studied at University. The industry may not be as competitive as music but generally is one where job roles are incredibly rewarding. This said, reward doesn’t come without hard work, and a housing position is not one to be entered into half-heartedly. Here at Housing Jobs, we’re interested to hear how you got into your role, was it always your intention to end up in the Housing industry, or was it by chance? Let us know on here or at enquiries@housingjobs.org.uk – if your story is really inspiring, it might end up in the official Housing Jobs newsletter!

5 “old school” tips for the under 25’s job hunt

Recent figures have shown that youth unemployment is at an all time high within the UK. Several matters often stand in the way of a young persons’ job hunt. A lot of people nowadays focus their efforts entirely on the internet rather than embracing other methods alongside the world wide web. We’ve put together some old fashioned hints and tips to help encourage your job search…

1. Dedicate more time – Allowing a couple of hours a day looking through job boards whilst checking your Facebook and Twitter at the same time will not suffice. They say the process of finding a job should be the equivalent of having a full time job – so make sure it is!

2. Apply speculatively to companies – Research has found that 80% of vacancies aren’t even advertised. Advertising vacancies can be an expensive process for companies, so if they can avoid it, most will. Send your CV and a tailored covering letter addressed to the person responsible for recruitment. If you can’t find this out from their corporate website, then call the company and ask.

3. Look elsewhere other than the internet – newspapers, industry publications. If you’re a graduate, attend job fairs and network – especially if your job role is quite specialist.

4. Be open minded – Don’t restrict yourself to one industry. Think about transferrable skills. You may not want to work in that specific industry for the rest of your life, but it might well prove to be a stepping stone in your career to the job you’ve always wanted.

5. Offer your skills for free – if you’re not working, then why not volunteer in a local charitable organisation, or within a company that you’ve always wanted to work for? It will provide you with the opportunity to increase your skills offering, and you never know, it could lead to a permanent job offer!

Sometimes, all it takes is a small adjustment to change the whole dimensions – be open to making changes within your job search strategy. Before you know it, you may be the one offering the advice and in the process, you may learn some valuable lessons through doing this.

Managing your social media presence

Recent research has found that 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have looked at a candidate’s social media profile, and almost half have done it after receiving the application, but before initiating a screening conversation. The research also showed that 69% of recruiters have rejected someone based on their social networking profile. The main reasons were because the candidate had lied about their qualifications, posted inappropriate photos or comments, or had negative comment about a previous employer. 68%, however, were reported to have hired someone because of what they’d seen on their profile. This was often due to the candidate’s profile providing a positive impression of personality and organisational fit, it showed the person was creative or it supported qualifications and had good references.

To help avoid being rejected due to your social media presence, we’ve put together some tips…

• Make sure your privacy settings are set to private unless you want everyone and anyone knowing your business – this includes the potential employers!

• When updating your social media platform, think about what you’re posting and how it may be perceived.

• Bear in mind that even if your profile is private, recruiters will still be able to see your profile picture. Offensive photos are often found to be the main reason for a recruiter rejecting a candidate.

• http://www.reppler.com is a free social media monitoring service which helps users manage their online image. In a nutshell, it checks all your social networks and highlights anything that could be considered a potential issue or risk.