Our colleague Anna Waters has joined the CIH Futures Board. Starting with LiveWest in early 2023 and keen for career development Anna has wanted to use a platform to initiate positive change.
Initially going into the GEM Programme, Anna was able to build her knowledge and skills within housing and attended conferences while working with other housing professionals.
Now a GEM graduate and looking for further opportunities, she hoped to join the CIH Futures Board and after a recruitment process, Anna was successful in gaining a position on the board.
With a sociology degree behind her, being in the housing sector is where she feels she can make a difference.
Our Housing Officer, Anna Waters, said: “After completing the GEM Programme, which was graduate work, I was looking for some opportunities to progress in my career.
“I think what's important for me, and that comes from being part of the GEM Programme, working in the frontline is amazing and that gives you lots of opportunities to develop in that way.
“For me, it's really important to have that combination of frontline work to get that experience of actually what's happening but combined with the feeling that you're part of something bigger.”
Coming from catering into housing, Anna is passionate about creating a home for people and making a positive difference within the housing sector.
Tackling the stigma that can come with social housing and an understanding of the way people live was a big passion Anna wanted to demonstrate and was part of securing her place on the board.
Anna put forward an idea to improve the housing sector that housing should be part of the national curriculum.
She said: “It's really amazing to be in a room of other people that are so passionate about it and so driven to make changes and make CIH futures have a voice.
“With housing, I could combine my passion for helping other people as well as use doing the degree that I've done.”
With hopes to challenge and encourage people wanting to go into housing but also demonstrates the variety of roles that you can have in housing and so people seeking a career for accountancy can actually do it for housing.
Anna said: “I've had a great experience with LiveWest promoting professional development.
“With this, it’s about empowering younger housing professionals to make them feel like they matter. I think that opens and creates the possibilities of creating solutions for problems and making housing management be done better.
“I'm just excited as well to have a that network of people that actually are all in similar situations and having the same challenges of being a young person in housing.
“As a young housing officer, you will get comments and you have to remind people that I may be young, but I'm here because I care.”