Housing Executive inspiring students across NI
The Housing Executive welcomed students from several secondary schools across Northern Ireland to Housing Centre this week (10-11 June) as part of its Work Inspiration event.
Work Inspiration is an employer-led initiative that aims to make work experience more meaningful, relevant and inspiring for young people.
In conjunction with Business in the Community (BITC), the programme was developed to bridge the gap between young people’s expectations of the world of work and what business expects from new recruits.
Students connected with other students from several different schools, before meeting with the Chief Executive and Directors who shared their early career stories and responded to questions about working in the Housing Executive.
Following the event, Catherine McFarland, Director of Finance, Audit and Assurance, said:
“The importance of harnessing home-grown talent and developing a career pathway is really important to us at the Housing Executive.
“We want our organisation to reflect the diversity of our community and age groups. School leavers can enrich our workforce and continue learning with us, as we offer a wide range of career pathways.
"Developing and supporting motivated staff who are problem solvers and have an affinity for helping others in our communities is key.”
The students also met with current graduates and had a tour of Housing Centre, where hundreds of employees come to work every day.
Our Human Resources team advised the students about the various different career paths available, how to get noticed at an interview and the range of benefits we offer to support colleagues.
After speaking with the participants, Chief Executive, Grainia Long, commented:
“Talking with the students is always exciting, they ask some serious questions!
“Individual career paths were clearly laid out over the last couple of days, with colleagues explaining first-hand how some attended university and while others had the opportunity to learn whilst working full time.
“It would be a pleasure to welcome some of these school leavers back to work with us some day. I also hope that anyone thinking of switching career will consider social housing as an enjoyable vocation.”
If you’d like to learn more about working with the Housing Executive, visit: