Local authorities and housing associations across the country all need experienced housing development and maintenance staff to build, acquire and maintain properties.

There are a number of roles available in the sector, ranging from tradesmen to carry out maintenance programmes through to project managers to oversee new developments. Most organisations in the field prefer to hire staff with experience and qualifications, so trainee roles are relatively rare.

All housing associations, councils and property maintenance contractors need multi-skilled tradesmen who have qualified as carpenters, plumbers or plasterers for installation, refurbishment and repair jobs. Permanent staff can expect to earn between £18,000 and £30,000 a year, while temporary workers hired via trades recruitment agencies are usually paid in the region of £10 to £13 an hour.

The same organisations also have employment opportunities for building surveyors with MRICS or MCIOB status to deal with planning issues and provide advice on new developments and maintenance programmes. Salaries are typically in the region of £35,000, but larger councils and housing associations have senior positions with remuneration packages worth more than £50,000.

As finding new sources of social housing is an important part of such organisations' roles, they need development managers and officers with experience of overseeing house building schemes, securing funding, acquiring properties and dealing with registered social landlords. Public sector housing specialists of this sort are in short supply, so most employers use construction recruitment agencies to fill these jobs, which pay between £38,000 and £50,000 a year.