CHOOSE HOUSING
A career where you can make a difference from day one
Housing isn’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s about individuals, communities and creating a safe place where people can thrive. If you want a role with purpose, and the opportunity for progression and growth, a career in housing could be for you. Working in this sector means you’re able to support people to sustain their tenancies, feel safe in their home, and give them opportunities to live a fulfilled life when they may need additional support Whether you’re making repairs, supporting residents directly or developing new homes, what you do makes a real difference every day.
The Choose Housing campaign was created by former CIH president Elly Hoult as the phrase ‘I fell into a housing career’ had become common place. On this page you can read more about what it means to work in housing, or access resources to enable you to help spread the message of what the housing profession is like – let’s make sure more people choose housing.
Routes into housing
You don’t need to have everything figured out to find out more about the housing sector. Whether you come with no qualifications, or lots of qualifications, our sector offers lots of different routes in: you may choose a more hands on route such as an apprenticeship or on the job learning in a junior role; or the academic route through college or university. Many people in housing earn while they learn, and the sector is known for offering opportunities to build real experience, gain qualifications, and develop skills that last a lifetime.
Housing isn’t a short-term job; it’s a sector offering you the chance to move, progress, specialise, or grow over time.
Why choose housing?
Housing could be a great role if you:
- Care about people and fairness
- Like helping others
- Enjoy teamwork and problem solving
- Want a job with meaning and stability
- Are curious, motivated and ready to learn.
CHOOSE HOUSING is about being proud of our profession , showcasing the amazing career opportunities housing provides and using our voice as a sector to encourage the next generation of housing professionals to CHOOSE HOUSING.
Housing is rich with diverse opportunities, from apprenticeships to entry-level roles and beyond. Encouraging people to explore careers in housing can open doors to meaningful work that aligns with their skills and interests.
Housing is more than just putting a roof over someone’s head. It’s about making a difference to people's lives. Whether it’s getting people into better jobs, providing financial support, or keeping residents and communities safe and warm over winter.
CHOOSE HOUSING will promote the housing as a career with social purpose and heart, showcasing the rewarding nature of a career in housing, so as a sector we can recruit and retain the best talent across the wide range of jobs housing offers – from housing to construction to corporate services.
The Chartered Institute of Housing exists to support housing professionals at every stage of their career. Not only can you study with the CIH Housing Academy, but you can also become a CIH member, taking advantage of our CPD opportunities, networking, mentoring to allow your career to flourish and thrive at a pace set pace you.
CHOOSE HOUSING will encourage everyone to examine how they can develop their career, professional development and skills. Whether that’s enhancing your own career, or paying your experience forward by becoming a mentor to the next generation of rising stars.
What career options are there?
There’s a lot more to housing than people expect, roles include:
- Housing and community roles – working with residents and neighbourhoods
- Trades, repairs and maintenance – maintaining homes to ensure they are safe, warm and secure
- Development and planning – helping design future homes and places
- Customer service and support – solving problems and helping people
- Digital, data and office roles – using technology and organisation skills
- Management and leadership – leading teams and making decisions that matter.
Resources for teachers and careers leaders
Support young people to discover careers in housing
The housing sector offers meaningful, skilled and long‑term career opportunities, but many students don’t realise the range of roles available or how to access them.
Our housing sector profile on Unifrog, provides a clear and engaging introduction to careers in housing and the routes into the sector, it can help your students to:
- Understand what the housing sector does and why it matters
- Explore different job roles and entry pathways
- Learn about apprenticeships, further and higher education routes
- See how housing careers link to skills, values and subjects studied at school
- Hear from people working in the sector.
It’s designed to support careers programmes, lessons, assemblies and one‑to‑one guidance.
You can also access these Choose Housing resources to support your work advising in schools and colleges in our toolkit or with our real life stories at the bottom of this page.
Resources for employers within the housing sector
Employers play a crucial role in attracting the next generation to housing. Through Choose Housing, CIH provides practical resources to support early careers engagement across the sector. Elly Hoult’s original campaign message in 2025, focussed on making housing careers more visible, inclusive and accessible for young people and strengthening links between employers and education.
Access the Choose Housing toolkit, designed to help employers within the sector to:
- Promote the range of careers and pathways in housing
- Engage confidently with schools and colleges
- Challenge misconceptions about the sector.
Using these resources helps employers build a stronger, more diverse talent pipeline and show young people that housing is a meaningful, modern and rewarding career choice.
Real life stories
