5 transferable skills perfect for supported housing jobs

Supporting housing plays a significant part in helping vulnerable members of the community find comfort, security, and stability in their lives. It helps provide safe and affordable living for people with various disabilities and mental health conditions, those unable to care for themselves, and individuals who have nowhere to call home.

Pursuing a career in supported housing, such as the role of a Supported Housing Officer or Support Worker, is a rewarding career that can see you make a positive impact on members of society who desperately require support. While supported housing jobs can require obtaining certain qualifications and experience, kickstarting your career within this space can be done with the transferable skills you already possess.

Skills gained and utilised across different jobs can be transferred to the supported housing sector. Whether you’ve worked in the healthcare, education or customer service space, these particular skills, from communication to time management, can be applied to and are widely recognised by employers within the supported housing space. 

In this guide, we’ll highlight a list the transferable skills that can set you apart from other candidates. If you’re considering applying for supported housing jobs or are interested in learning more about how you could be suited to roles within the industry, this guide is for you. 

This guide will cover the following:

• What is supported housing?
• Transferable skills perfect for supported housing jobs

What is supported housing?

If you're considering a career in supported housing, it's essential to understand the key question: 'What is supported housing?' Whether you're looking to transition into the role of a Supported Housing Officer, Support Worker, or other position within the space, understanding the industry you're moving into can help set you up for success. 

Supported housing focuses on providing housing and support services for various members of the community. It supports vulnerable service users including, but not limited to, the following:

• People with physical, mental, and/or learning disabilities.
• Individuals with mental health conditions.
• Older people.
• Homeless people.
• Emergency refugees.
• Victims of domestic abuse.

The purpose of supported housing is to help these members of the community have a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home. Supported housing jobs are vital in ensuring these people have the best accommodation possible, regardless of their situation and circumstances. It gives vulnerable people a fair opportunity to live their best lives and look forward to the future.

Supported housing jobs, such as the role of a Support Worker, can help provide physical and emotional support to vulnerable individuals. This support can involve helping them complete daily tasks and ensuring they are comfortable and secure in their living environment. 

These jobs go beyond just providing people with a safe space to live. They also play a significant role in reducing the pressure on the NHS and other services that focus on supporting people to manage and overcome their health and wellbeing challenges. 

According to the National Housing Federation, the support of professionals working in supported housing saves the public purse around £940 per resident each year. They also state that close to 40,000 new homes dedicated to older adults are needed annually to cope with the increasingly ageing population. These examples of supported housing will allow older individuals to maintain their independence with ongoing support to help them live comfortably within their communities.

Overall, supported housing services cater to diverse demographics, from people with physical and mental disabilities to victims of domestic abuse. Regardless of the path you take in your career, supported housing jobs come with a unified goal of helping vulnerable people within the community lead independent and happy lives. Ultimately, supported housing services and roles within this industry play a major part in the lives of vulnerable people. 

Transferable skills perfect for supported housing jobs

Supported housing jobs typically require candidates to obtain specific credentials, such as a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. However, certain traits like transferable skills can also place you in an excellent position to pursue a career in supported housing. These skills, such as communication, empathy, time management, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, are all traits you may already possess and are ones that employers will look for in applicants.

In this section, we'll explore a list of transferable skills perfect for talent seeking to apply for supported housing jobs. You may have worked in the healthcare and education sectors or have experience in retail and customer service. In that case, you’ll have developed some or all of the transferable skills that will be discussed. Being equipped with these transferable skills will make you well-suited and prepared for supported housing roles. 

Communication

The first entry on our list of transferable skills perfect for supported housing jobs is communication skills. Regardless of your background, you can tailor your communication skills to various scenarios as you support vulnerable people and their families who utilise supported housing services. 

Effective communication skills are about more than just being able to speak and be approachable. They also involve actively listening to the needs of the individuals you support and communicating with your colleagues to provide the best service possible. 

Along with verbal communication, transferable skills will also involve your ability to deliver effective written communication. You could use your writing ability when you send emails to individuals you’re supporting, colleagues you’re working with, or governing bodies within the supported housing space with whom you’re liaising. 

Supported housing jobs, such as Support Worker roles, will involve interacting with a diverse range of people. These individuals may come from different cultural backgrounds, be of various ages and genders, and have different literacy and communication abilities. Your ability to adapt how you communicate with people, regardless of their differences, will be crucial to your success in a career in supported housing. 

For example, if you’re supporting an individual who doesn’t speak English but you can speak their language, this could make you a sought-after candidate. Similarly, you may find yourself in a scenario where you’re supporting someone who is deaf, has hearing difficulties, or is non-verbal. If you can communicate with them via Makaton or other types of sign language, this transferable skill will undoubtedly set you apart from other applicants. 

Additionally, you may encounter conversations where the subject matter is sensitive, confidential, involves medical discussions, or focuses on communicating with distressed individuals. Your ability to effectively tailor your communication style to handle these interactions will be essential.

Make sure to add communication as a transferable skill to your CV and demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively in your interview. Doing so will set you apart from other applicants.

Professional boundaries and safeguarding 

The ability to respect professional boundaries and understand safeguarding principles is crucial. These skills ensure that both residents and staff can maintain a safe, respectful, and supportive environment, which is essential for effective and sustainable living in such settings.

Professional boundaries help establish trust between residents and staff. This trust is foundational to creating a supportive environment where residents feel safe to express their needs and concerns. Without clear boundaries, relationships can become blurred, leading to confusion, mistrust, or dependency, which can hinder personal growth and autonomy.

Safeguarding involves protecting residents from harm, abuse, and neglect. Understanding safeguarding principles means that residents are aware of their rights to be safe and can recognise when those rights are being compromised. It also means they know how to report concerns, ensuring that issues are addressed promptly.

Empathy 

Candidates with transferable skills perfect for supported housing jobs will also possess empathy. Whether resolving conflicts or assisting individuals going through challenging circumstances, empathising with people is essential for anyone working in a supported housing job. It involves allowing individuals to share their feelings with you in a safe environment whereby you show an understanding of what they’re experiencing, putting yourself in their shoes. 

Empathy allows you to connect with vulnerable people on a personal level, demonstrating your ability to relate to their perspectives to help find a solution that meets their immediate or future needs. These connections built on empathy can develop trust between you and the person you support. It will make them feel that their experiences and situations are heard and valued, which could positively impact their future. 

Showing empathy in the supported housing sector will see you support vulnerable individuals going through various situations. Although you will encounter similar situations, each person you interact with will be experiencing circumstances that are unique to them. 

You will find yourself in situations where you’ll have to empathise with individuals dealing with personal barriers, emotional distress and complex life situations. Regardless of the scenario you’re supporting, whether someone is upset or distressed, your empathy skills should focus on treating the individual how you’d want to be treated. 

Ultimately, empathy involves identifying and addressing unique challenges. It plays a significant part in your ability to connect with people on a human level. Having empathy in your skill set will enable you to develop meaningful and supportive professional relationships that positively impact the lives of those you support.

Time management

Whether your focus is on the role of a Housing Officer or Support Worker, another transferable skill that perfectly suits supported housing jobs is time management. Due to the time-sensitive nature of roles within supported housing, employers within this space consider this transferable skill as a must-have.

Time management skills are necessary in supported housing jobs to balance time between different cases and the various people you support. Efficient time management allows you to deliver the best service possible to your people, ensuring everyone you interact with receives the consistent support they need when needed and that fits their routine.

When it comes to managing time, top talent will be excellent at prioritising their tasks, ensuring they stay focused on the people they need to help on a particular day without overlooking or undeserving any of their clients. They will be comfortable leaning on their colleagues for support. This support involves sharing their workload or taking on tasks from their colleagues fairly and collaboratively, which ensures that the people who require support receive the well-rounded care they need.

Of course, supported housing jobs involve supporting vulnerable individuals. However, it’s also important that you use this transferable skill to manage your personal time. It’s vital that you manage your time and take breaks when needed to ensure you’re avoiding feeling overwhelmed. Doing so will impact your health and the level of support you can deliver to your clients.  

Effective time management in supported housing jobs is a transferable skill that ultimately impacts the quality of care you provide to others and yourself. If you’re serious about pursuing a career in supported housing, your ability to organise your workload, collaborate with colleagues and deliver an effective service is essential.

Adaptability

Next on our list of transferable skills perfect for permanent or contract-supported housing jobs is adaptability. Due to the nature of these roles, you must be open to change, adapt, and be flexible while remaining resilient when faced with unexpected circumstances. 

The transferable skill of adaptability is more than just being able to adjust your schedule at any given moment. It encompasses your ability to support diverse people and help them find solutions to their evolving needs and unforeseen challenges. This adaptability involves recognising various moods of an individual and tailoring your communication style to suit their needs. It also involves switching between tasks instantly and knowing when to prioritise the needs of an individual. 

With supported housing jobs, no two days are the same, and it's common to come across unpredictable situations on a daily basis. While this makes for a rewarding career that keeps you on your toes, it requires a degree of adaptability and flexibility. You should remain vigilant of unexpected schedule changes or respond to urgent needs and be prepared to adapt your approach and utilise new methods of dealing with specific situations. 

Your ability to adapt is one thing. Being able to adapt and handle challenges calmly and pragmatically is another. Demonstrating effective adaptability skills to various scenarios will inspire confidence and trust in the people you support and your colleagues. 

Adaptability is all about being prepared for the unexpected while remaining calm to provide excellent and consistent support. Your ability to adapt and embrace change to respond to diverse needs is one of the top transferable skills that could set you up for success in your career in supported housing.

Emotional intelligence

Candidates with the transferable skills of emotional intelligence will be well-suited to a career in supported housing. Emotional intelligence is an essential skill for supported housing jobs and involves your ability to manage your own emotions and those of the people you serve. 

Undoubtedly, emotional intelligence is a top transferable skill that encompasses various components. These include self-awareness and recognising an individual's emotions in particular scenarios. Being able to reflect on your feelings can make you an ideal candidate who can support others while remaining focused and composed when resolving various challenges, stressful situations, and conflicting circumstances. 

Referring to a previous point, active listening, empathy, and compassion are core to emotional intelligence. By listening to the needs of the people you support, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of their emotions, allowing you to resolve issues while building trusted relationships.

Supported housing jobs can be emotionally demanding. Therefore, being aware of your mindset, wellbeing, and boundaries is essential. Managing your work-life balance to avoid burnout and feeling overwhelmed is essential for long-term success in this career path. 

Supported housing often involves managing complex cases where residents have multifaceted needs—ranging from mental health challenges to substance abuse or social isolation. Emotional intelligence enables staff to navigate these complexities by maintaining their own emotional balance while addressing the resident’s needs. This balance is critical in ensuring that staff can offer consistent and effective support without becoming overwhelmed or emotionally entangled.

Your ability to harness this transferable skill and apply emotional intelligence to your career in supported housing can enrich your professional capabilities and enhance the quality of support you provide to vulnerable individuals. Overall, emotional intelligence is an indispensable skill for anyone entering or transitioning into supported housing jobs.

Key takeaways of transferable skills for supported housing jobs

Pursuing a career in supported housing is challenging and rewarding and can be achieved with a combination of transferable skills. Whether it’s effective communication, empathy, time management, adaptability, or emotional intelligence, these transferable skills are crucial for providing comprehensive support to vulnerable individuals. 

These transferable skills are sought-after by employers and enable professionals to offer tailored assistance, build trust, and handle the various challenges that accompany supported housing jobs. By harnessing these transferable skills and adding them to your CV, you can take your first steps to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those needing help from supported housing services.

Looking for the latest supported housing jobs?

If you’re looking to apply for the latest supported housing jobs, we can help you achieve your career aspirations. We’ve delivered market-leading recruitment services to passionate candidates eager to kickstart their careers in supported housing since 2002. Our specialist Consultants are here to lend their expertise and connect you to the top roles, regardless of your background and experience. 

Contact us today or register as a candidate to connect with the market’s top supported housing jobs.