CIH to design qualification exemptions for thousands of senior managers

Mr Smart said that quality and standards are non-negotiable and the CIH is working to develop a clear and flexible way in which staff can meet those standards.

The CIH also wants to encourage diversity in the sector, he added.

“We’re working closely to make sure we do have available a variety of routes and options for you to study so you can manage it alongside the very real demands in your work lives and private lives,” Mr Smart said.

He has previously said that the enforcement of professional qualifications in social housing will benefit the sector, including its tenants.

Mr Smart said: “I think there’s more here to celebrate than there is to worry about; it’s an opportunity to drive recognition and respect for the work that you do. It’s a move towards parity of esteem with the other professionals that we work with.

“And in the same way, as we benefit from the qualifications frameworks in the professions that we work with, I think tenants and residents will benefit from our qualifications. I think its contribution is towards housing becoming a recognised career path, the career of ambition.”

He added: “We believe in professionalism, because we believe it helps you to deliver against your purpose.”

Mr Smart said that having a qualification alone is not the answer, but the right skills and knowledge is an important part of the picture.

“It’s recognising our professional standards when knowledge and skills are two of the seven dimensions of the framework,” he said.

“But the other dimensions are behaviours, attitudes, values, ethics - because what we do and how we do it is as important as what we know. Actions speak louder than words and we will be judged not on what we say, but on what we do.

“And true professionalism also means being willing to continue to learn, to be curious and never being content to stand still.”

Mr Smart previously told Social Housing how the CIH is “gearing up” for a push to drive up standards in the sector.

Speaking at the conference, he also said that it is a “pretty challenging time” for the sector, following a global pandemic, financial crisis and now uncertain economic times.

Research launched at Housing 2023 today, through a collaboration between RESAM and Social Housing, found that 45 per cent of housing providers anticipate a worsening of their financial performance over the next 12 months.

Mr Smart said social landlords are faced with the challenge of having to build homes, maintain and invest in their current stock, prepare for net zero, adjust services for tenants and prepare for new regulation, all in a difficult economic environment.

The cost of living crisis within housing is not abating, he said, as renters face increased rental costs, while mortgage rates place pressure on both first-time buyers and existing homeowners remortgaging, and homelessness is rising.

Mr Smart said: “But I think that makes the work that we do even more critically important. And I think you’d agree that that is actually grounds for redoubling our efforts.

“Because the work that you do is so important. It does dictate the context in which we operate, and we could be working in some of the toughest conditions that we’ve seen for some time. I know that we can respond to that challenge, because we’ve done it before. I know that we have to do it again.”

Better Social Housing Review

Mr Smart also said the Better Social Housing Review has demonstrated that the sector is willing to listen. The review was commissioned by the CIH and the National Housing Federation (NHF) to make recommendations to the government and the sector about the quality of homes. 

The review’s report was published in December, setting out seven recommendations. These included calling for every housing association to audit its stock, refocus its purpose and work with all tenants to ensure they have a voice.

In May, the NHF and CIH set out an action plan for implementing the recommendations. This included developing common indicators to aid the proposal of carrying out a national audit of the sector’s stock.

Mr Smart said: “I believe that the action plan that we published last month will help us to create conditions where the quality and the impact of the vast majority of the work that you do is properly understood and properly recognised.

“It’s also important that I draw your attention to the fact that both the review and the action plan were very clear that housing like other key infrastructure, like health, and education, can’t be outsourced.

“It’s for the government to set a vision and a strategy for what housing needs to look like in the UK, which we will then work with to play our part in ensuring that we are properly housed as a nation, but it is not a responsibility that can be delegated away.

“So, we need a long-term plan, which addresses pressures on supply, on quality, on affordability, building safety and on climate change.”