A social landlord has hosted its largest ever graduation for its school of social housing, The Phoenix Academy.

Phoenix Community Housing held the graduation at its community hub, where 44 graduates collected their Level 1 or Levels 2-4 Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) qualifications. The graduates are a mix of Phoenix residents, staff and employees of other housing providers or organisations who are interested in the work of social landlords.

Marie Porter, course manager, said: “We set up The Phoenix Academy in 2014 to encourage more residents to get involved with Phoenix and to take up positions on our resident-led Board. Now that we’ve expanded our course offering, we also have students joining external to Phoenix – it’s fantastic to see everyone come together to celebrate their achievements and shared commitment to best practice in our sector.”

Lara Oyedele, president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, presented the certificates and gave the keynote speech emphasising the importance of diversity at Board level and the role learning has to play in career development.

The Phoenix Academy is one of the few centres nationally to offer the CIH Level 4 qualification, which is set to become a mandatory requirement for housing managers.

Elijah Owusu Ansah, who completed CIH Levels 3 and 4 said: “I came across the Phoenix Academy online and decided to enrol as I’m passionate about learning and finding better solutions to the problems in our sector. The qualifications supported me to secure a higher position in the YMCA Training Team – it was challenging but worth it.

“Getting the qualification is one thing, but it’s how you apply the knowledge that matters the most.”

The Phoenix Academy is now accepting expressions of interest for its Level 1 course, beginning in November. Levels 2 and 3, both begin in October and Level 4, starts in September. The Phoenix Academy is free for Phoenix residents.

For course details and to enrol, just click here.