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Career progression and professional development in the changing work environment

The Graduate Employment Mentoring (GEM) Programme, in conjunction with the Northern Housing Consortium (NHC), launched the Business Unusual: The Future of Work research programme to undertake a series of bite-sized research pieces providing an insight into how the future of work has changed to inform the thinking of senior leaders and people of influence across the housing sector. The research is led by current and former GEM students who are working across housing sectors in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Australia. As the next generation of housing sector leaders, our aim was to provide a first-hand view of the future of work in the context of the drastic changes experienced over the last two years.

This second research project focused on ‘Career progression and professional development in the changing work environment’. The aim of the research project is to:

  1. Ascertain what career progression there is for new and current housing professionals
  2. Identify the values and behaviours that drive these individuals towards career development
  3. Provide an understanding of how housing organisations attract and retain staff
  4. Critically evaluate where the onus lies in driving one’s career

This report allows us to compare the wide range of perspectives shared by housing professionals working across different areas of the housing sector. The research participants include individuals at different stages of their career, from those in a lower-managerial role to new graduates.

Download the report here

Previous reports

Download the report here

Remote working – changing employment and psychological contracts

The Northern Housing Consortium has partnered with the GEM Programme to facilitate a series of bite-sized research pieces looking at Business Unusual – The Future of Work.

The research is written from the unique perspective of upcoming housing professionals, offering insight and views on the experience of younger employees around themes such as remote working, career development and mental health and wellbeing.

Geraldine Howley, Chair of GEM Programme, commented:

“This is an excellent piece of work reflecting the experiences and views of our upcoming housing professionals. The report offers a unique perspective on the impact of the pandemic on our younger employees, and gives us insight into how we can shape working life to meet the needs of our whole staff team. Working with the Northern Housing Consortium on this project has meant that we have been able to involve senior leaders from across the sector to shape, review and comment on the research, and I look forward to the outcomes of the next report.”