Young talent shortlisted in national competition

• 7th June 2021

Awards

Three colleagues from whg have been shortlisted in a national competition that aims to find the best young talent in the housing sector.

Trainee development manager Britney Wootton, apprentice gas engineer Melissa Hart and Young Persons’ Temporary Accommodation Officer Mohammed (Mo) Ahmed have made it through to the finals of Housing Quality Network’s (HQN) Housing’s Next Generation competition, which brings together some of the best young professionals in the industry.

Britney, aged 21, joined whg in 2018 as a project officer apprentice within the development team. Through her academic studies and on-the-job training she has since achieved a merit grade in her APM Project Management Qualification, followed by a Level 4 Associate Project Manager Qualification. As a trainee development manager she now works on new-build schemes, including appraising new schemes, writing reports, administering contracts and overseeing projects on site.

Melissa, aged 23, is an apprentice gas engineer and has overcome the challenges of juggling childcare with working and studying to become an inspirational role model for women wanting to break into the male-dominated construction industry. Melissa is now a qualified gas engineer, having completed a Level 3 ACS in gas engineering during her apprenticeship.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mo joined whg’s Health and Wellbeing team just over 12 months ago and in that short period of time has made a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable young people in Walsall. Mo’s role sees him support up to 60 young people at a time who may have come from care or whose challenging family background means they have nowhere else to go.

Those shortlisted will now be whittled down to 10, who will present in the semi-final on how they would improve housing with one idea or concept. Five candidates will then be chosen to take part in the grand finale at the HQN annual conference in July.