Support for CIH members - what’s happening in your area this summer?

CIH’s engagement team has enjoyed speaking with employers in England over the last few months about their preparations for the Competence and Conduct Standard. It’s promising that organisations aren’t only focusing on required qualifications for those identified in scope, but also how membership and a commitment to continuing professional development offers an important aspect of learning for all colleagues across the UK. As well as the incoming regulations in England, there're lots of other important changes coming up for the housing sector. Read on to find out what’s going on in your area. 

Insight sharing at events and valuable discussions in South East England and London

Earlier in July, Jill Allcoat, our strategic engagement manager attended the Unifrog employers forum in London. The day was full of fantastic insight sessions and attendees got to hear details on Unifrog’s recent survey of over 60,000 students’ decision-making processes. It was great to listen to year 12 students on what they look for in job opportunities as we’re keen to support young people in choosing housing as a career.

Jill was also present at the South East Consortium’s summer networking event in London. It was a great opportunity to make new connections and discuss important topics ranging from social value employment initiatives through to CIH’s South East event offering: Housing Brighton.

Finally, we virtually attended the Alliance Homes CIH Club. The call was a productive one, and we heard discussions about anti-social behaviour, the new powers and how colleagues are dealing with incoming changes. In the upcoming months in the South East, we’re excited to be holding more CIH Clubs for other actively engaged organisations. If you have an event you’d be interested in one of our engagement team attending please do let us know.

Coming up soon are our governance induction sessions for some of our member volunteers; these are an opportunity for our volunteers to build their knowledge of CIH’s structure and to support us and the wider housing sector. If you’re interested in getting involved please get in touch.

Our regional group members have contributed to the organisation of our upcoming housing event in Peterborough: Working Better Together: A Day of Ideas, Collaboration and Impact. As an attending CIH member, you’ll get access to policy and legal updates relevant to your area, as well as the chance to meet other housing professionals close to home.

We’ll also be presenting at the next g320 member meeting, giving an overview of upcoming regulatory change, how housing associations can prepare, and how their CIH membership will support them.

Productive meetings in the Midlands

Engagement lead for the Midlands, Wayne Pope, recently met up with Bic Athwal at EMH’s head office. It was a fantastic opportunity to share updates on EMH’s current ICT projects and the innovative work they’re delivering alongside residents to improve services and engagement.

Wayne also met the brilliant Monique Duchen, who is EMH’s head of customer services, and heard more about the exciting omni-channel projects transforming how they connect with tenants and customers from across the region.

Collaboration across the housing sector is so important—sharing ideas, challenges, and innovation helps all of us deliver better outcomes for residents. Speakers from EMH will be at the Housing Community Summit later this year, so grab your ticket to access a range of sessions that cover housing in the Midlands, England, the UK, and beyond. And, if you’re interested in having one of our engagement managers visit your organisation get in touch to arrange a visit.

Policy updates and award preparation in Wales

It’s been a busy few months in Wales as we welcomed the Seventh Senedd and outlined the change we want to see from them. The Right to Adequate Housing is a universal one, and we believe it should therefore be put into Welsh legislation. We’re continuing our campaign for more social and affordable housing across the nation, and we’ll be working to support our Welsh members in tackling fuel poverty. You can read more in our Housing strategy for Wales.

If you’re proud of the work you’ve done this year as a housing professional, entering the Welsh Housing Awards is the perfect way to celebrate your achievements. Applications are open until 21 September 2026 and we’re excited to celebrate the creativity and passion of Welsh housing professionals.

Bringing members together in Scotland

In Scotland, we were pleased to have the chance to contribute to the Scottish Government’s consultation on Awaab’s Law, making sure we effectively represented our members’ views and concerns.  We spoke at the recent AICO Roadshows in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow, talking about damp and mould and sharing the importance of useful training for staff.  We were also delighted to host the first in-person meeting of CIH Futures Scotland, which focused on how we can support early-careers housing professionals.

Looking to the future, we’ll be taking our roadshows across Scotland over the next few months, bringing housing professionals together to explore what professionalism means in today's sector. We’ll also be celebrating the best of Scottish housing professionals at the Scottish Housing Awards in November, so make sure you enter your teams and projects to be in with a chance of winning!

Building connections and showing off our training courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Our recent Northern Ireland event: Housing Connected: Accelerate Your Career was a brilliant afternoon of learning, networking, and celebrating success. It was great to see new connections made and the excitement that CIH membership can spark for those who feel passionate about housing. You can watch more of our previous event recordings here.

The CIH Housing Academy offers a range of housing qualifications and training courses, but it’s important to remember that we offer specific courses for Northern Ireland professionals, designed around the laws and regulations in your nation. For those who learn best in-person, the Introduction to social housing in Northern Ireland and An introduction to restorative practice: Working restoratively and navigating conflict in Northern Ireland are great opportunities to sit in a room with other professionals and learn from the experts. If an online course is more accessible for you, we also cover topics like anti-social behaviour, damp and mould, and TIC and PIE.

If you’re a housing professional living in the Republic of Ireland, our virtual event Housing delivery in Ireland: The front facing perspective is coming up very soon. Book your space to learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing housing teams, and how you can tackle them.

As always, Julie Steele’s door is open to discuss member benefits—please reach out if you’re an Irish professional who’d like to discuss how CIH can support you as someone involved in the housing sector.

As a CIH member, you’ve always got our support. Check out our events listings to see how you can interact with us next and please reach out to discuss more member benefits if you’re unsure. We’re excited for the next few months ahead of us!