Work Aware – Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA)

About the business:

Queens Cross Housing Association (QCHA) is a social landlord in North Glasgow covering over 4,500 houses. We currently house over 200 employees making us one of the largest social landlords in Glasgow. No team’s day is the same at QCHA – our staff all operate in different teams, shifts and locations throughout our remit and some of those are part of teams that are unusual for Housing Associations to have, for example, Community Development, Services for Over 60s, Services for Positive Mental Health, Digital Inclusion & Youth Work.

Why was the Work Aware programme of interest to you?

The Work Aware Programme was of great interest to us as it was an opportunity for young people to explore their interests, passions and futures without judgement or barriers from their circumstances. It also gave us a chance to challenge the negative perspective of Housing Associations within the younger demographic to encourage them to look at all the options available to them when they are trying to find their perfect fit. The Work Aware Programme is fantastic in the sense that it moves away from the ‘traditional’ style of work experience where young people are just pigeon-holed into where their parents/guardians work for a week, instead of being able to explore all the jobs that are out there.

What activities have pupils undertaken during your Work Aware programme? Have you seen any changes in young people from start to finish?

Due to the nature of our work, young people were only able to experience site tours and talks with some of our employees. However, having young people come in who didn’t know anything about Housing Associations or potentially had very negative perceptions and watching them change through their visit with us was particularly uplifting for sure.

What has been the highlight of your business’ Work Aware experience?

Overall, the whole experience has been very positive for us. It has allowed us to reach a new demographic of young people who now may consider a future within the world of Housing Associations and has allowed them to experience the different journeys/routes our employees have taken to get them to where they are now.

What about the Work Aware programme would you recommend to other businesses?

We would highly recommend the Work Aware Programme to other businesses.

What value do you feel that Work Aware and DYW in general can bring to your organization?

Both Work Aware and DYW already do fantastic work throughout Scotland, but to Queens Cross specifically, it gives us a platform to showcase what we do and the opportunities such as apprenticeships that we can offer young people regardless of academic perceptions.

Quote from employer

“Work Aware is a fantastic initiative, and we were delighted to have been part of it. The hard work and dedication that FARE Scotland and DYW Glasgow have put in to ensure that young people across Glasgow can explore their full potential is outstanding and something that was missing before. We would absolutely recommend any businesses who are considering getting involved to just do it and sign up.”

Ivy Bennett, Youth Co-ordinator, Queens Cross Housing Association

Work Aware is a Glasgow Chamber of Commerce initiative in partnership with Developing the Young Workforce Glasgow, FARE and Glasgow City Council and funded by Inspiring Scotland.