Scottish Housing Day 2023: celebrating housing as a career of choice

This Scottish Housing Day, we’re celebrating those who have made housing their career of choice and the wealth of vital work that everyone in the sector contributes to social housing across Scotland.

Quality affordable housing remains of systemic importance to Scotland, but the work that we do would not be possible without our people.

At Loreburn, every member of our team plays a vital role in enabling us to continue to support our tenants and to make sure that everyone has a safe, warm and comfortable place to call home.

Our Cyclical Compliance Team Manager, Murron Bissett, tells of her journey into housing…

How did you end up working for Loreburn?

I started working for Loreburn in July 2017 as a Business Administration Modern Apprentice after one of my college lecturers made me aware of the opportunity. I was at college studying HNC Business so the Modern Apprentice job was an ideal opportunity to earn while I continued to learn.

What attracted you to work in the housing sector?

During school and college, the housing sector was one that was not widely discussed or even mentioned as a possible carer. When my lecturer made me aware of the job opportunity, I did a few searches on Loreburn and the sector and I quickly found that the sector was varied and Loreburn had many exciting projects on the go!

The main thing that attracted me was that no day seemed to be the same and there always seemed to be plenty of opportunity to try new things.

What does your job entail?

I am currently the Team Manager for the Cyclical Compliance Team. My role consists of supporting my team to ensure our tenants live safely in their homes - ensuring that Loreburn are fully compliant with all regulations and legislations we must adhere to as a Registered Social Landlord. This includes carrying out annual gas safety checks, asbestos surveys, electrical inspections, legionella preventative measures and component servicing.

Although it does not sound the most exciting, I enjoy the fact that I can see the areas where we are achieving 100% compliance results and areas where we need to improve. I like to see the progress we have made! I get to talk to our tenants on a daily basis and build an understanding of what is important to them. I am constantly learning how we can best support tenants to allow access to their home to enable compliance checks, as everyone has different needs.

What skills and qualities do you need for your role?

Within my role I need to ensure I am efficient and have good time management. I often juggle many different projects at once so need to ensure I keep accurate records. I have a very close-knit team and couldn’t do my role without each of their expertise and support.

I’m often communicating with tenants and external contractors, so having clear and concise communications is important to ensure that works are undertaken correctly and on time. I also need to make sure that I’m keeping up with current legislation, so Loreburn remains legally compliant, so good organisational and administrative skills are a must!

Starting as a Modern Apprentice at Loreburn, I was presented with a lot of opportunities for personal and professional development. I am constantly learning on the job, and with each new challenge comes a new learning experience.

My colleagues are Loreburn provide are always willing to help and provide invaluable support.

What's the best thing about working for Loreburn?

The best thing about working at Loreburn is that you can present ideas and then follow these through. Our Executive team are always supportive of new ideas and trialling new products and technologies. This gives me and the team plenty of room to improve the service we offer our tenants!