Regeneration is about transforming the places where people live. The role of regeneration can greatly improve standards of location, design, building, sanitation and affordable housing on sites that might otherwise just sit there derelict, losing value and having a negative impact on communities.
Currently, the largest regeneration project in the UK is Olympic Park in East London, the focus of the 2012 Olympics, where the project is costing almost £6 billion. Outside of London, one of the UK’s biggest residential housing renewal projects, is a transformation plan that could be worth £1bn – with a 15 to 20 year vision to revitalise and regenerate Gateshead.
It sounds like an oxymoron, but regeneration professionals are often generalist specialists that work laterally across many disciplines and with different organisations to deliver what a community wants. This mix of skills is often their expertise and careers in this sector can embrace a diversity of possible development paths. This scope is why many people find this field so appealing. A regeneration manager for example, can cut across health, planning, design, community work, arts, crime prevention, finance, architecture, and local government.
There are many graduates working in the sector. From an educational point of view, humanities subjects like geography and history are popular, as are degrees in built environment areas like town planning and design. There are postgraduate courses in regeneration and on-the-job training is also available. Many employees will expect relevant experience, so mature candidates are also common.
Regeneration jobs will appeal to individuals who are passionate about improving places, keen to learn and good at communicating with a wide range people of people and organisations. Regeneration professionals will need negotiation skills, and the ability to manage finance and budgets. It involves strategic thinking towards a physical outcome, but the impacts can be far reaching and change lives.
Typical employers would include local authorities, regional and national government, housing associations, charities social enterprises and community groups as well as developers, architectural firms and other organisations working to revive run-down areas and tackle deprivation.
Starting salaries in regeneration jobs can be anything from £25,000 upwards. The average salary for a manager is £50,000-£55,000 and senior level salaries can go up to £100,000. Charitable sector salaries however, can be lower than the equivalent in the public or private sector.
Current challenges to this sector include a possible reduction in the funding of regeneration projects due to the present economic climate, which may reduce career opportunities. This could particularly affect professionals working in the public sector. In the third sector, changes to the distribution of lottery funds and a move away from grants towards service delivery contracts, could see regeneration professionals moving to the public and private sectors.
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