WISH North Wales Spring Newsletter

At the end of 2017 we were delighted and proud to receive a highly commended award for our services in promoting equality and diversity in housing at the annual Welsh Housing Awards held in Cardiff. A brilliant achievement for a still relatively new region. 18 brings a host of exciting events which started in January with a Netwalking event to blow off those Christmas cobwebs and burn off the mince pies whilst networking! A group of hardy walkers gathered on a cold Saturday morning and braved bracing winds to walk six miles around the stunning Clwydian range followed by well earned cake and coffee. Further walks will be planned in during the year when hopefully the weather will be kinder!

Later in January WISH hosted a learning event, inviting members to attend a session covering Universal Credit. A team from Flintshire County Council, who are the first authority in North Wales to roll out full service, shared their experiences with over 30 colleagues from across the housing sector. It proved a very interactive session, with plenty of information and learnings discussed for representatives to take back and share with their teams.

During our event in February we learnt all about our Chimp, in a workshop delivered by the team behind the highly acclaimed mind management programme, The Chimp Paradox. More than fifty WISH members and friends gathered at the stunning, award winning Moneypenny offices in Wrexham to learn all about our two independent thinking brains, and different techniques we can adopt for managing our emotional selves, how to reduce the likelihood of having an emotional outburst by looking after our needs and how to deal appropriately with our emotions when they arise.

Our Next Event

Are you Promotion Ready?

Our next event takes place on 12th April at the offices of Wales and West in Ewloe. The morning workshop will be all about how to build your career and be promotion ready including:

• How to identify your transferable assets to build your confidence
• How to go for the next step up
• The five things every boss wants from you
• Thriving in a VUCA (Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous) world

Further events for the year include:

June 14th – Summer Social

September 6th – Governance and how being part of a board can help your career

October 25th – Brand You! How to boost your profile through social media

November 30th – Christmas Social

Welcoming our ambassadors

During the last few months we have welcomed two Ambassadors who are providing invaluable support to our board in the organisation and running of the region, as well as helping to promote WISH within the region. We are really pleased to introduce Gemma and Chloe who share their journeys into the housing sector and why WISH is important to them:

Gemma Davies
I came into the construction industry because an opportunity came along in the family business, Davies Partnership, and I held a desire to have a technical / management role and build my career. Over the past few years I have successfully developed through a CAD role and as a Sustainability / Renewable Energy Technician to become the Associate Director of Business and Finance. Our practice has grown considerably over the years and now employs over 25 people. I am proud to have played a major role in this development and have enjoyed not only the technical aspect but also seeing the business flourish. Over recent years we have seen a marked increase of business within the Social housing sector; I am part of the Management Team and we have targeted this exciting sector for growth.  WISH is a key part of our continued activity in this sector and I was delighted to be asked to join the North Wales team as an Ambassador, meeting new people, understanding more about social housing and keeping at the forefront of technical and legislative developments. I have found the whole experience really enjoyable and have increased my network of like-minded women in just a few months. In terms of my interests away from the practice, they are not related to housing at all – I spend a lot of time around horses and classic cars which are a real passion of mine.

I look forward to playing a role in WISH and would highly recommend every woman who has a career in this sector to come along and get involved.

Chloe Matthews
I am Chloe Matthews and I am a Flintshire Trainee within affordable housing team North East Wales Homes (NEW Homes). NEW Homes is an affordable housing team sat within Flintshire County Council. I began as a trainee within the team in September 2016 studying Business Admin and now have a permanent role within the company.

NEW Homes deal with many developments around Flintshire, having our own stock of new build properties and also managing private rented properties on behalf of landlords. I have always had a passion for learning and helping people whenever possible and I am able to do both within my job! Helping people and learning all aspects of housing is one of my favourite parts of my job.

I have interested in progressing further in housing and I am planning on eventually undertaking a HNC in Housing and gaining as much experience as possible.

I am now pleased to be a WISH Ambassador and excited for what the opportunity is to bring. I hope to be able to share my experiences with other women and encourage them into the sector.

Outside of work I love spending time with family & friends and planning travel as I have a desire to travel the world!

Keep in touch!

We look forward to seeing all our members and friends throughout the year, and please don’t forget, if there is topic that you would like addressing let us know!

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @WISHNorthWales