I Got Hired: Housing Graduate

Posted on: 2 November 2022 by Richard Finch in Graduate stories

Aidan Semple is a Class of 2021 Geography graduate, currently working as a Housing Graduate for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE ROLE?

Throughout my third and final year of university I was looking out for possible graduate roles to apply for. I first came across the role I now have at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through the Handshake careers platform that the university partners with. After exploring the role further, I quickly realised that it would be a great fit for me.

I knew that I could bring a lot to the role following the skills and experiences I had gained over my three years studying Geography, and the fact that it was a role that would keep me working in Liverpool and having a positive impact on the city region only furthered the appeal.

HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

First and foremost, my three years at the University of Liverpool undoubtedly helped me to get where I am now! My job now is predominantly focused on supporting housing and wider regeneration projects around the city region. This involves collaboration with local government partners, national government departments, community groups and private sector organisations such as housing associations, developers, and economic/environmental consultants.

My Geography degree certainly gave me initial understandings of the interlinkages between local and national politics, economic development, and social and environmental challenges. Much of the initial success I’m having in my career is down to variety of modules I was able to choose from during my three years of study, and the subsequent knowledge and understandings I gained.

In addition to my Geography degree was the short internship I did for a few weeks over the summer prior to starting my second year of study. This internship for CPRE, the countryside charity provided me with much more relevant insight and experience of socio-economic, environmental and political landscapes in the Liverpool City Region. The fact that the project I worked on entailed advising the Combined Authority on prioritising brownfield sites in the city region for development over sites on the green belt was incredibly useful. This was similar to much of the work I do now in my graduate role, and I came across many of the stakeholders that I currently consult with during the course of my internship.

It was this overall combination between the knowledge gained from my degree and the pertinent experiences gained from my internship that has helped me to get to where I am today. Liverpool is a great place to study, with the Liverpool City Region becoming an increasingly exciting place to work as a Geography graduate!

YOUR FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE AS PART OF YOUR ROLE?

What makes working for the Combined Authority so exciting is that, through devolution, we have hundreds of millions of pounds of funding from government to invest in large scale strategic projects across the city region. It is these projects, and those to do with regeneration in particular, which have made my experience in work such an exciting one so far. For example, some of the larger scale new-build housing projects I have worked on in Liverpool and on the Wirral have been the most exciting. My experiences and understandings have only improved further through working with colleagues from the investment, transport, and energy/net zero carbon teams on large scale developments. To then see the benefits that some of the projects we support have on the region and its people first-hand is certainly something that makes me proud.

In a similar way to the pride I have in supporting the region through large scale regeneration schemes is some of the work I’m increasingly involved with around housing retrofit – in which our team supports households to retrofit their properties, making them more energy efficient. Not only does this retrofit work have environmental benefits through reduction of carbon emissions, but it also has real life impacts on households and their ability to move out of fuel poverty and save money on their energy bills. As with my work on regeneration, the increasing role and the positive experiences I’m having on housing retrofit continue to motivate and drive me forward in my career.


THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF YOUR GRADUATE JOURNEY?

I think my main challenge during the transition between student and graduate was persevering in trying to find the right job for me. During a turbulent third and final year of study, with Covid restrictions forcing me to complete my degree through online learning, I was also applying for possible graduate roles. I think that once I got my current job, I was able to adjust to the world of work relatively quickly – especially in the field I work in, due to the knowledge and skills gained during my degree and my internship. However, it was the period leading up to getting my job that was the most challenging. Having the perseverance in searching for possible graduate roles and being flexible in terms of job description and location is key. After a few frustrating months in which multiple applications fell short, I did eventually succeed in getting a graduate role. Everything works itself out in the end, and for me this was the case as I ended up with a fantastic role that allowed me to stay living and working in the Liverpool City Region.


TOP THREE TIPS FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

1. First and foremost, enjoy yourself at university! The years you have as a student will be some of the best in your life, so make sure you get yourself out there and meet as many people as possible, whether that be on your course, in your accommodation or in other societies. You’ll graduate university a very different person to when you started, with your experiences shaping who you are and where you want to go in life. This was certainly the case for me, and I know that my three years as a student in Liverpool helped me to get to where I am now as a graduate.

2. Make the most of work experience opportunities through the university ,Career Studio. The internship I did between first and second years boosted my employability massively, with the experiences gained helping me to start strong in my graduate role. Internship and placement opportunities via Handshake are certainly worth exploring further – as are other opportunities such as the study abroad programme.

3. When coming to the end of your time as a student, have faith in yourself when applying for graduate roles! It is frustrating when job applications aren’t progressing, but things do work out for the best in the end. Perseverance and self-belief are important!