Disability and Housing Seminar
Housing Care and Support Conference and Exhibition
3-4 July 2007: University of Surrey
National Housing Federation
Tel.: 0870 010 7676
Cave Review of Social Housing Regulation Conference
4 July 2007: Leeds
Northern Housing Consortium
Tel.: 0191 566 1000
Housing Law Seminar
5 July 2007: London
Chartered Institute of Housing
Tel.: 024 7685 1772
Housing Law Conference
5 July 2007: Leeds
Northern Housing Consortium
Tel.: 0191 566 1000
Development and Regeneration Conference and Exhibition
9-11 July 2007: University of Warwick, Coventry
National Housing Federation
Tel.: 0870 010 7676
Maintenance Conference and Exhibition
9-11 July 2007: University of Warwick, Coventry
National Housing Federation
Tel.: 0870 010 7676
Achieving Low Carbon Buildings: Tackling Climate Change Conference
10-11 July 2007: Mayfair Conference Centre
Waterfront Conference Company
Tel.: 020 7787 1210
Research & Intelligence Conference
11 July 2007: Leeds
Northern Housing Consortium
Tel.: 0191 566 1000
Equality & Diversity Conference
12 July 2007: Leedsm
Northern Housing Consortium
Tel.: 0191 566 1000
Preparing for Disability Equality Conference
17 July 2007: Novotel, Birmingham Centre
National Housing Federation
Tel.: 0870 010 7676
The Respect Standard
17 July 2007: London
Chartered Institute of Housing
Tel.: 024 7685 1772
Achieving Board Excellence Conference
19 July 2007: Royal College of Physicians, London
National Housing Federation
Tel.: 0870 010 7676
Disability and Housing Seminar
24 July 2007: Bradford
Chartered Institute of Housing
Tel.: 024 7685 1772
People, Power and Poverty: The Role of Communities in Shaping Places. Eighth National Regeneration Convention
25-27 July 2007: University of Loughborough
ROOMatRTPI
Tel.: 020 7929 9489
Housing Law Seminar
26 July 2007: Leeds
Chartered Institute of Housing
Tel.: 024 7685 1772
Please visit the Forthcoming Events section of this website for a comprehensive listing of events.
Mortgage Possession Proceedings in the County Court
3 July 2007: London
Assessing Vulnerability in Homeless People - Briefing
5 July 2007 (9.30am - 12.30pm): London
Housing Law Update
13 July 2007: London
Housing Possession Hearings: Practice and Procedure
17-18 July 2007: London
Homelessness and Allocations Law: Advanced
24-25 July 2007: York
Homelessness Update
25 July 2007: London
Security of Tenure: Introductory
25-26 July 2007: Manchester
Homelessness Update
27 July 2007: York
For further details, call Shelter Training on 0844 515 1155 or visit there website at www.shelter.org.uk/training.
Sir Michael Latham spoke to more than 100 delegates at a groundbreaking conference, in London. The conference was held to find out the barriers that prevent homeless people from getting jobs in the construction industry.
Sir Michael, Chairman of ConstructionSkills, said:
"Today is not just about re-treading old ground. It's about establishing a real outcome in terms of momentum and change.
"Amongst the industry, there may be false assumptions about the real barriers which homeless, and formerly homeless, people encounter.
"Amongst the homeless agencies, there may be a sense that action in this field is about charity or about outdated skills needs figures.
"In order to move on, these misconceptions must be aired and then corrected to allow all parties to work together productively."
Sir Michael, the keynote speaker for the event, is also chair of the Construction Industry Training Board. He wrote a highly influential joint government/industry report, called Constructing the Team, in 1994.
Sir Michael said the current labour force predictions showed that industry output is set to rise by 10.8% by 2011, through projects such as the Olympics and the widening of the M25. Just to service current predictions, he said the construction industry needed to recruit more than 87,000 people every year for the next five years.
He pointed out that the construction industry was made up of a range of different sub-sectors from new build housing to repair and maintenance of heritage properties.
Each sub-sector, he said, had different labour requirements and, most important, a different capacity to absorb new entrants.
Sir Michael said: "For the well-positioned homelessness agency, particularly those near to major developments, there are real opportunities for improving the access of the homeless to employment. However, to make these opportunities concrete will require the breaking down of stereotypes of the homeless, commonly held by many employers - and a realistic assessment of candidates provided by homelessness agencies."
Sir Michael was also keen to point out the many misconceptions that construction employers held about homeless people:
"It is vital that as an industry we overcome the stereotypes that all homeless people are unmotivated and demanding; or that they have become homeless because they have little ability and have spiralled downwards through addictions.
"Many of the homeless, or former homeless, are ready and eager for work, and may have general ability or specifically useful past experience - for example, time served in the armed forces. They may also already have a relevant education."
Sir Michael said that ConstructionSkills had been working in partnership with the Housing Forum for the past two years, using social housing refurbishment demonstration projects to train disadvantaged local people.
He added: "We have already built up a lot of knowledge and best practice in this area. It's only by openly discussing the issues from both sides of the question that we will be able to move forward productively together."
The conference was organised by a consortium of organisations, including Thames Reach, Construction Youth Trust, CRASH, Department of Communities and Local Government, Homeless Link, and Off the Streets and into Work.