Scottish Housing Day 2023 is all about celebrating housing as a career.
One of the most well-known routes into the industry is through the role of Housing Officer. Each one responsible for managing a certain street or development, they have many day-to-day responsibilities that enable us to provide the service we do! They are also often the first point of contact for most of our tenants for any guidance and support, and are always here to help when needed.
Hear from one of our Housing Officers, Trudy Smithers, on how her varied backgrounds helps her in her role:
What first attracted you to your current role?
Many years ago, I studied policy at university. Policy includes studying the welfare state: housing, health, education, social security and employment. I was particularly drawn to housing. I believe good housing is the springboard to achieve positive outcomes in other areas of life.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The variety! I also really enjoy speaking to tenants and hearing all about their different experiences.
What job did you want to do as child?
I wanted to be a sports therapist as I was very into sport and fitness (I still am) but I wasn’t quite committed enough in my teenage years, as I was also interested in partying.
Do you ever come across any misconceptions about your role?
A common one is that Housing Officers are just interested in collecting rent. Whilst colleting rent is one of our priorities, some tenants don’t realise (until we meet them), we do much more than that eg referrals to support services and mental health awareness raising.
Is any of your previous experience or training related to housing?
I have had a varied working background. I worked in banking for 14 years. I’m also a qualified counsellor and was registered with BACP. I worked in primary schools and with Looked after Children. Before my current role I worked as a Welfare Rights Adviser.
Three different roles but the skills I acquired across these three roles are applied every day in my current role as a Housing Officer. For example, working in banking gave me a good understanding of finance which is required to discuss rent payment plans with tenants.
Being a counsellor means having strong listening and support skills, and having clear boundaries. Unfortunately, we often hear from tenants with difficult life circumstances. As some of the issues we deal with are traumatic, it is very important to demonstrate empathy whilst maintaining appropriate boundaries, so we are not taking work home with us.
Finally, being a Welfare Rights Officer helped me develop a good understanding of helping tenants access benefits.