<b><b>Judith Harrison,</b><b> project director at the Housing Forum, looks at some key questions that prospective employees are asking themselves before joining a housebuilding company and at the areas that employers need to tackle to attract key staff into the industry </b></b><br><b>In the days before the Housing Forum when there was time for voluntary work as well as the day job, I used to be a youth group leader. Amongst the many joys and challenges of this experience was being party to the culture and language of the early teenage age group. At the time it amused me to hear them grade adults according to whether they were &amp;"safe&amp;" or not. A &amp;"safe&amp;" adult was basically one who they felt they could trust to look out for them, stand up for them and be aware of their interests and needs. </b><br><b><b>Attracting employees</b></b><br> Using this criteria, to what extent would housebuilders and their subcontractors be considered &amp;"safe&amp;" from the perspective of their employees? More importantly, when we consider the labour shortages in the industry, to what extent are employers in the sector considered to be &amp;"safe&amp;" by prospective employees - the people we need to attract into the industry? Employees and potential …