Onward Homes
Housing Apprentice
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Housing Apprentice
What You Can Expect From Onward Homes
Onward Homes offers:
- A Real Living Wage salary of £24,479 per annum
- 37-hour workweek
- 40 days paid holiday (32 days annual leave + bank holidays, equivalent to 8 weeks)
- Salary Finance – access to short and long-term loans, plus a savings facility
- Attain additional annual leave through service accrual or the holiday purchase scheme
- Immediate pension access with matched contributions (up to 10%)
- A great flexible working environment, including family-friendly policies
- Health cash plan with optional family coverage. Inclusions include:
- Dental
- Optical
- Physiotherapy
- 24/7 private GP access
- Paid leave for:
- Sickness
- Maternity
- Paternity
- Adoption leave
- £150 annual budget through the *‘Learning for Life’ scheme
- Discounts and cash-back offers across retail, automotive, holidays, and a cycle-to-work scheme
- Career development via support and training, including qualifications
- 2 paid half-days volunteering per year
Start Your Career in Housing with Onward Homes
At Onward Homes, we are dedicated to building communities where people can thrive and fostering rewarding careers. Our Housing Apprenticeship Programme offers a unique chance to:
- Gain hands-on experience, professional qualifications, and real-world insights into social housing
- Develop a broad professional skillset for long-term success
- Explore how housing impacts daily lives, ensuring excellent support for communities
Programme Overview
The 24-month apprenticeship begins with a 6-month placement in our Accrington Contact Centre, where you’ll reinforce customer service skills, gaining insight into customer needs, service operations, and cross-department collaboration.
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Following this, you’ll undergo structured rotations across various departments—across our North West locations—to develop expertise across the business.
Job Responsibilities
Learning & Development
- Participate in rotations, structured training modules, and professional qualifications.
- Shadow frontline teams (e.g., Neighbourhoods, Tenancy Support, Repairs) to understand key housing functions.
- Work closely with a mentor to set growth goals, track progress and build confidence.
- Engage in reflective practice through learning logs, presentations, and one-on-one supervision.
Collaboration & Teamwork
- Build cross-team relationships with external partners, improving cooperation.
- Communicate clearly via meetings, emails, and reports.
- Promote continuous improvement by sharing learnings with peers and colleagues.
Customer & Community Engagement
- Assist with community engagement activities such as surveys, events, and feedback sessions.
- Manage low-risk casework, ensuring accurate and timely support for customers.
- Contribute to service improvements based on customer insight and data.
Project & Analytical Work
- Support cross-departmental projects to enhance efficiency, digital capabilities, and customer experience.
- Research sector trends, policy changes, and best practices.
Compliance & Governance
- Support policy reviews, ensuring alignment with legislation and organisational standards.
- Prepare reports and briefings for internal/external stakeholders.
Job Requirements
Essential
- Passionate about helping people and enhancing local communities.
- Motivated to learn, develop skills, and pursue professional qualifications.
- Ability to engage confidently with people in various roles.
- Flexibility, adaptability, and cross-team/cross-location capability.
- Strong organisation, motivational skills, and communication.
- Independently confident driver with a full UK licence and access to a car (*required for inter-office travel between *Accrington, Liverpool, & Didsbury).
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Desirable
- Previous experience in volunteer work/community initiatives.
- Familiarity with housing sector challenges and public service roles.
- Project management experience from work, university, or extracurricular activities.
Qualifications
Essential:
- A-level equivalency or completed education to this level.
Desirable:
- Higher-level education (NVQ Level 4, Diploma or Degree equivalent).
About Onward Homes
Onward Homes is the North West’s largest registered social housing provider—home to 35,000 properties dedicated to creating better living conditions.
We take housing beyond a roof over the head. Our goal is to build 500 new homes annually, while offering community support, life improvement, and career opportunities.
As a colleague, you’ll find a supportive, progressive workspace that values your growth and contributions. Everything you do has purpose and impact.
Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We embrace diverse teams to cultivate an inclusive culture, ensuring everyone has the platform to flourish—no matter their background.
To ensure accessibility, we make reasonable adjustments throughout recruitment. Please let us know if you have any special support needs at:
HumanResourcesTeam@onward.co.uk
For questions or concerns relating to the role or recruitment process, contact the HR Team—they’ll be happy to assist.
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