Back for its third year, our Housing’s Next Generation competition attracted entries from all over the sector, from housing associations and local authorities to supply chain partners and housing co-operatives.

The judges looked at several criteria when shortlisting, including showing leadership, having a commitment to diversity and inclusion, wanting to make the next step in their housing careers, and committing to improve social housing. Judges found it incredibly tough to shortlist down to 20.

Encouragingly, what all the entries had in common was their passion for making the sector a better place.

Every young person nominated should be extremely proud of what they’ve achieved to be recognised by their line managers and executive teams. As a congratulations, we’ve given them all access to our Next Generation Hub, an exclusive networking group for young people. They’ll also get access to topical briefings, discounted events and training, plus exclusive guest speakers.

The 20 below are our initial cohort for this year. They’ve now been set their first challenge in the form of a blog, answering one of several questions put to them by HQN CEO, Alistair McIntosh.

The judges will meet at the end of this month to pick ten of the candidates to go through to the semi-final.

The semi-final will be a presentation of five minutes centred around one idea they believe could change the sector for the better. It could be anything from a new initiative, a culture change or change in approach.

Our judges for the 2022 Housing’s Next Generation competition are:

  • Tanisha Rigby, Housing Next Generation 2021 finalist; Sheron Carter, CEO, Eldon Housing Association, Olu Olanrewaju, Senior Consultant, Altair; Tony Stacey, CEO, South Yorkshire Housing Association, and Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO.

The shortlisted 20 are as follows:

  • Rosalynn Funnell, 24, Tenancy Involvement Officer, Wokingham Borough Council
  • Emily Batchford, 24, Environmental Sustainability Officer, Stonewater
  • Saarah Bunglawala, 24, Diversity Business Partner, PA Housing
  • Emma Gilbank, 28, Service Manager: Sustainability and Climate Change, Connect Housing
  • Hanifa Blakemore-Razaq, 28, Communities Project Manager, Clarion
  • Gift Ngubane, 27, Employment Support Advisor, Abri
  • Tom Leon-Grimes, 25, Service Development Manager, Orbit Group
  • Isobel Emery, 29, Senior Customer Service Advisor, Golding Homes
  • Naomi Mooney, 25, Development Manager, Stonewater
  • Jasmine Tansur, 29, Resident Liaison Officer, PA Housing
  • Shaleen Brown, 24, Customer Engagement Lead, Orbit Group
  • Tania Bedi, 23, Customer Services Graduate Trainee, Network Homes
  • Emily Elsworth, 21, Asset Compliance Team Leader, Longhurst Group
  • Alice Goodall, 28, Communications Officer, Futures Housing Group
  • Meg Norrey, 23, Early Tenancy Money Advisor, Weaver Vale Housing Trust
  • Amy Greenwood, 29, Customer Safety Coordinator, Stockport Homes Group
  • Stephanie Ward, 29, Electrician, PA Housing
  • Taylor Skirda, 26, Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation
  • Gemma Brookes, 28, Project Surveyor NetZero Carbon Team, Orbit Group
  • Kemba Mitchell, 24, Project Coordinator, South Yorkshire Housing Association