Cervantes, a great Spanish writer, said – “ You are king by your own fireside, as much as any monarch on his throne.” A place to live is one of life’s basic needs and most of us like to make our homes as comfortable as possible. But for many people this cannot always be achieved, usually because they cannot afford it. And helping these people at the lower end of the housing scale is perhaps the best thing about the job that the technical officer does: improving the quality of sub-standard accommodation. At times this might mean using enforcement procedures under housing legislation to get the right result.

Technical officers are employed in all local authorities except county councils.

Work Environment

The work base is the office: liaising with colleagues, planning, writing and studying reports. But often it takes place on site, at houses of multiple occupation where safety standards are being contravened and at building works with dirt, noise and bad weather. The officers wear smart clothing and protective hats but carry with them, whether they are standing or climbing stairs, a digitape, electric tester and damp meter.
They work just over 36 hours per week, but this does not involve anti-social hours or shifts.

Daily Activities

Much of the officer’s time is spent visiting houses where there are problems - which might mean having to confront uncooperative landlords - inspecting work in progress or assisting landlords with grant applications in order to bring every home up to safety standards. There is also the chance to work on special projects alongside environmental health officers; for example to set up and implement control schemes with a timetable and deadlines for housing improvement. Officers have daily contact with other council services like housing and social services and a wide range of customer where they can use their own initiative as well as work within a team.

The job is very satisfying and offers a variety of challenges. On the positive side, many clients welcome what the environmental staff can do to improve housing conditions. People who are in a vulnerable situation rely on them to help solve their problems. They can have a major impact on the quality of life of the community.

Skills & Interests

To do the job well you would need to be:

• good with figures
• confident
• able to get on with people from different ethnic backgrounds and social and educational
• status.

Though the ‘people factor’ is perhaps the most important, it would also be helpful if you had:

• practical ability
• an attention to detail
• a caring nature
• project management ability
• an interest in the environment.

Entry Requirements

For this post, or training leading to it, you would need an HND Building qualification.

Previous experience in regeneration or housing demolition, for example, is useful and sometimes essential.

There is no mandatory requirement for continuing professional development.

Estimated salary range

Salary starts circa £15,700.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

This is a narrow field of work and people usually have to move departments or councils to get promotion, though there are worthwhile opportunities for sideways moves that offer more chances of advancement.

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