The managing director of a recruitment outsourcing company claims huge sums of money across the housing association sector are being wasted because of the industry's unwillingness to employ graduates.
Amanda Marques, MD of PPS Works, accused housing associations of failing to utilise young people leaving the country's univserities. She said:
"There are no housing associations in the top 100 graduate recruiters, while the national graduate development programme is currently sitting at number 29.
"There are so many areas of the public sector other than housing represented, and this is a bewildering waste of money and talent."
"Few housing associations are looking at the graduate market and this would reduce the expensive reliance on agency staff.
"We have graduates tuning into the public sector, central government and local government and these bodies are seizing the opportunity, but there is little evidence to see this in housing.”
Mrs Marques believes that a lack of a pool of particular skill sets means housing associations turn to interim staff to complete projects and said that organisations need to work together closely to address the issue.
She said:
"Only by working with universities, the Association of Graduate Recruiters and amongst the housing association community itself will these issues be resolved."
She added that research from Lancaster University showing graduates pay for themselves in 20 months from their start date and generate £5.30 for every £1 invested by their third year on mid size graduate recruitment programmes vindicated her standpoint.
She further said:
"We have a situation where housing associations themselves all believe in developing their communities and yet ‘buy in’ talent in an unplanned way.
"At a time like this, it really is up to all organisations to scrutinise what they are doing and it really is high time housing associations realise and take action which could have such a profound effect on this industry."