Tim Edwards, head of regeneration at Aspire Housing and responsible for the association's development and regeneration programme
Support financial inclusion Good quality advice and support around financial inclusion is important in the current context. The key is using the sector's privileged access to these communities to target, tailor and support people towards better outcomes for them.
Understanding and accessing employment options is difficult One of the challenges is to distill the complex range of options available in a form that officers, whose core role is not in the employment and skills arena, can use. We've undertaken a pilot with our income team to undertake "better off in work calculations" and give advice and support with signposting and referral to our in-house support team or to other agencies.
Steve Jones, chief executive of Tai Ceredigion and board member of the National Business Unit for the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru
Work with a variety of authorities In my experience its important for housing associations to work closely with Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) contractors, such as Working Links. Make the most of that relationship to jointly design local schemes and enterprises that match the available funding schemes with local needs.
Tap into new funding Whether we like the main DWP contractors or not, we need them and they need us. We have set up another partnership between Working Links, Tai Ceredigion, and the new Wales Probation Trust, to create a new social enterprise called Medra ("Able", in English). The plan is to tap into the new work programme funding streams as they come along.
Try self-employment It's important that the skills and training offered is not just focused on the employed route, and that participants are also offered information and skills to enable them to go self-employed.
Dave Carter, head of sustainability at Adactus Housing Group, leading on employment and skills, climate change and regeneration issues
Start by providing quality affordable homes We won't carry much credibility trying to help residents improve their life chances if we're not providing excellent quality homes, and delivering first-class housing services at a price people can afford without long-term dependency on benefits.
Multi-agency working is essential There are many agencies with more expertise than us in what is a highly complex area, and we benefit greatly from working alongside them. However, we are in a position to take a pivotal role because of our relationships with tenants and access to information.
Dave Sedman, head of Great Opportunities, a business unit within Great Places Housing Group
Don't just focus on social tenants Most housing providers are active in mixed-tenure communities. As such we need to ensure all the services we provide, including financial inclusion and access to other specialist suppliers, are available to all in the neighbourhoods where we are active and have influence.
Social enterprise Developing new social enterprise, community interest companies and the like is the right thing to do. Many specialist organisations support the poor and vulnerable, helping us to help them get out of poverty. Many though are struggling to survive and the housing movement needs to find ways to support them in very difficult trading conditions.
Apprenticeships need to be practical Apprenticeships need to be for a realistic minimum period, for example, two years, ideally to NVQ level 3, progressing into a permanent position to allow a new intake of young apprentices. This needs to be seen as part of the organisation's workforce planning and diversity.
Brian Simpson is chief executive of Wirral Partnership Homes
Employment schemes should be long-term and sustainable My concern is that there are a number of schemes launched with funding which is time-limited and so as the scheme ends and we are back to square one. We need to build from these initiatives.
Anne-Marie Clayton-Scott works for an Irwell Valley Housing Association project managing a supported housing scheme for homeless 16-25-year-olds
Confidence is essential Housing associations play a big part in enabling tenants to access these fantastic opportunities as they need stable high-quality homes. But in the work we do it's often about going back to basics to ensure that people are confident and motivated to be able to progress.
Fixed-term tenancies may make it difficult to engage tenants It may be more challenging to get tenants to engage as stability is key and we lose an element of this by offering fixed-term tenancies. I guess it depends on how it is managed when the tenant signs up to the property. Its needs to be a positive experience with obvious benefits to the tenant.
Alex Delaney, manager at Transforming a Generation, a charity which helps young people into employment in the fitness industry
Employers need to take the lead in apprenticeships We place people into apprenticeships and employers need to lead the way, otherwise we place vulnerable young people with employers who are not that keen on helping.
Apprenticeships must be paid Apprenticeship wages are extremely low and some of our young people can't take them up because its uneconomical for them. On the flipside we find that employers need an incentive - the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) wage that we could pay made that possible [FJF was cut in May 2010].
Gary Clark, operations director at Roseberry Housing Association
Customer profiling is useful Customer profiling is an important area of housing sector business that is developing and will help associations create a more personalised offer now and in the future. With the impact of the welfare benefit reform, specifically on those receiving certain benefits and the targeting of certain groups for the work programme, housing associations would be more proactive with customised communications to those who will be most affected.
Helen Kirk-Brown, director at recruitment consultancy Hays Social Housing
People need more support than motivation The over-riding thing that has struck me is the desire to work but not knowing how to go about accessing jobs and having the confidence to try different avenues. With support and guidance, the majority of people have achieved their goal to find work.
Support should continue while tenants work It is vital continued support is given to the tenant during the early stages of their new job. In a culture with long probation periods and high standards to be met, it is harder then ever to hold on to a job. Mentoring schemes and continual training and support is essential.
Andy Tate, policy officer at the National Housing Federation, leading on worklessness issues
Fixed-term tenancies could discourage people to find work A fixed-term tenancy as short as two years could act as a disincentive to work, with the tenant, rightly or wrongly, concerned that getting a job means losing their home. In reality, it is likely that most fixed-term tenancies will be for at least five years. Nevertheless, it will still be important for social landlords to engage with tenants throughout these tenancies to ensure tenants will continue to be adequately housed after the term is complete.
Nick Atkin, chief executive of Halton Housing Trust and a non-executive adviser to the Warrington health commissioning bBoard
Localism We have used our customer profiling information to offer targeted employment and training opportunities. We have also linked our major suppliers and contractors to a contractual obligation to provide locally employment opportunities as well as training and apprenticeships.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the housing network for more like this direct to your inbox.
