Julie Flinn's career in the housing sector is already what most people would consider a success. At the age of 31, after just seven years in the industry, she has reached the position of neighbourhood housing manager for housing association Home Group Ltd. She has responsibility for managing lettings and rent arrears for 2,500 properties across the Tees Valley and oversees 14 staff.
To progress further, however, she needed to gain a professional qualification recognised by the Chartered Institute of Housing. She has now passed that milestone, having just completed the professional top-up element of the HNC in housing she started at New College, Durham three years ago.
Flinn says: "Experience can take you a long way in housing, but there comes a point where you need to gain corporate membership of the institute if you want to get further ahead. Now that I have managed to get that, it has spurred me on to go for a full degree."
Flinn dropped out of studying for A-levels at school and spent eight years working in an opticians before switching careers. "I am really driven by this career," she says. "I find it so interesting, and people will always need housing. Gaining a professional qualification is opening up new possibilities for me."
