Life as an apprentice: SFHA's Aidan McLeary

By Aidan McLeary, SFHA Apprentice Administrator

Since beginning my apprenticeship with the SFHA in the Corporate Services team in November, I must admit that my experience so far in housing has opened my eyes to a lot of things going in our country. 

If truth be told, the housing sector was an area I hadn't heard much about before, but I applied for this role at SFHA as I was keen to experience something new and find out more about the sector in general.

As an apprentice administrator, I work in our Corporate Services department which is of massive importance to SFHA, it's often known as the glue or cog that keeps the business together. 

My own role is hugely varied and involves everything from dealing with members' enquiries over the phone and by email, to placing job advertisements on our website, as well as the general administrative work which keeps the organisation running smoothly on a daily basis.

I feel I have already made an impact on the team and the organisation as a whole. I've been able to use customer skills and knowledge I've developed from school and my previous part-time job and apply them to the role. 

I'm already looking to develop my skills and I'm keen to learn about the finance side of the SFHA. I'll be starting my in-house training in the coming weeks and that will give me an understanding of raising invoices, reconciling payments, and a whole lot more. 

Housing is a sector that isn't talked about enough, but I'd definitely recommend it to others as I've found it really interesting since starting the job. It's a friendly hard-working environment and it's definitely something more teenagers should know about. 

The SFHA has teamed up with CIH Scotland to launch a new resource, called 'Your Career in Housing', promoting the various roles and opportunities in housing. You can find out more about it here.