Career masterclass fits in with levelling up agenda

Judith Common is Board Chair at County Durham-based housing association believe housing and Vice Chair of the networking community Women in Social Housing (WISH) North East.

“It is important that the social housing sector comes together to give women the support they need to progress their careers, so do not feel alone and that we use ‘the power of us’,” she said.

“There is a wonderful pool of talent waiting to come to fruition and it is important that we enable everyone to progress, as they want to, for themselves and for the benefit of the sector.

“A priority of the levelling up agenda must be to do all we can, together, to keep the talent we have in the region.”

Judith Common, Board Chair at believe housing and Vice Chair of Women in Social Housing (WISH) North East, at the event

Judith was attending a career masterclass presented by WISH North East and sponsored and hosted by believe housing, at its office in Seaham.

More than 70 delegates attended the event, entitled ‘influencing masterclass: how to influence your career’, on Friday, 17 June 2022.

Inspirational guest speaker, Bob Caren, discussed how delegates can authentically influence their career and Julie Brayson, believe housing’s Director of Transformation and Culture, led a career mapping session.

There was also plenty of useful advice from Nik Turner, Executive Director of Communities and Customer Services at believe housing, Caroline Gitsham, WISH Board member, and Jayne Lawson, Head of Innovation and Marketing at Thirteen Group, during a women in leadership Q&A.

believe housing’s Chief Executive Bill Fullen and Executive Director of Communities and Customer Services, Nik Turner, at the event

Colleagues from believe housing, which manages 18,000 homes and offers awarding-winning support to customers and communities, attended the event.

Staff from housing associations including Beyond Housing, Thirteen Group, South Tyneside Homes, Tyne Housing, Karbon Homes, and YHN were among those who also took part.

GUEST SPEAKER: Bob Caren, communication and behaviour specialist and coach, discussed how delegates can authentically influence their career

Crystal Hicks is Chair of WISH North East, a Community Interest Company which looks at barriers to women taking a full and active role within social housing, provides networking opportunities and emphasises the value women add to the sector.

She said: “We create a space for women at any level of seniority in the sector to take time out from their work to think about where they are and what they want, to connect with people who they otherwise might never get to, and to support each other.

“The impact of Covid means some people still feel quite isolated, so bringing people together to network is more important than ever.”

Crystal Hicks, Chair of WISH North East, opens the event

Believe housing is a member and supporter of WISH North East because it is committed to realising its vision of life without barriers for its customers and its people and to creating an inclusive culture where the power of the individual is valued.

The not-for-profit housing association, which recently retained its ‘two star – outstanding to work for’ status from Best Companies, is investing heavily in homes and communities stretching across County Durham and beyond.

WISH North East and believe housing host a career masterclass, aimed at women working in social housing  

Its teams are growing due to the number of exciting projects it is delivering and a variety of new roles are currently available.

Visit the website www.believehousing.co.uk/vacancies for details.

For more information about WISH visit www.wishgb.co.uk