Product category:
Housing, Regeneration and Developments
News Release from: Places for People
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 January 2007
Places for People on the path to degree
success
Fourteen employees from Places for People - the UK's largest housing and regeneration group - have passed an innovative postgraduate certificate.
Fourteen employees from Places for People - the UK's largest housing and regeneration group - have passed an innovative postgraduate certificate developed to raise students' professional development, and improve their housing skills and knowledge The employees have this month passed the certificate covering subjects such as 'housing and social policy' and 'housing finance', in a unique link up between Places for People and Leicester's De Montfort University
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 24 Nov 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Places for People launched the bespoke postgraduate certificate for employees in 2005 because it believed that traditional housing courses failed to adequately prepare people for working in a rapidly changing housing sector.
The 'postgraduate certificate in housing studies' is believed to be the first jointly run qualification of its type in the country and is a major step forward in employee training.
Jacq Furness, learning and development advisor at Places for People, said: "Traditionally, housing qualifications were set up on the basis that one size fits all".
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"Yet the housing sector has changed dramatically over the past five years, with a greater range of services being provided".
"'We developed our own course because we could not get what we wanted from the existing courses - the qualifications weren't keeping up with the changes in the direction of our business or the new housing services and products we were launching".
The 15-month course has seen students pass modules in housing and social policy; planning and regeneration; housing and management and housing and finance.
It represents the continuing investment Places for People is making in the professional development of its employees, and will help people to both advance their careers and offer improved services and products to thousands of customers.
Dr Tim Brown, Director of the Centre for Comparative Housing Research at De Montfort University and Course Leader, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Places for People on this innovative programme that builds on our experience of developing bespoke courses for major employers".
"We are currently discussing the further development of the course leading to an MSc." Rebecca Turnstall, an external assessor at the London School of Economics (LSE) who recently reviewed the course said: "Places for People and De Montfort University's postgraduate certificate in housing has been a resounding success".
"It is an imaginative and challenging programme that should become a model for how universities and social enterprise organisations can work together".
Helen James, a customer involvement officer at Places for People who has just graduated from the course said that it had greatly helped improve her housing knowledge and skills".
"The course has been extremely beneficial and informative, and has really broadened my knowledge of the housing and regeneration sector".
"I feel that it has helped me to develop my work skills and has really given me the confidence to progress my career.".
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