Military housing managers learn the drill: NAA'S military housing designation program is becoming a must-have for this niche market.

"An eye opener." That's how Sharon Williams explained her introduction to military culture.

Far different from private industry, the military is a world that combines a hierarchical organization with rites and rituals, which is what the community management director at the Army installation at Fort Bragg, N.C., for Picerne Military Housing discovered in her quest to understand the military environment.

It was an elemental but necessary first step for Williams, then a candidate for the new Certified Defense Privatization Management (CDPM) designation, a professional development designation that has quickly become an industry must for those involved with the privatization of military housing since the designation was introduced less than two years ago.

"With the advent of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative established in 1996, it became clear that specialized training was needed to ensure consistent standards and practices between government and private sector construction and housing managers," said Patrick Appleby, Senior Vice President, Lend Lease Residential. "The military recognized that housing privatization was the wave of the future, so we stepped up to make sure that our employees received the training they needed to be accepted by their private sector partners."

Since that time, privatized military housing has become the norm for military personnel in all branches of the armed forces and has created a new housing market for those in the private real estate industry. It was inevitable that there would be formal training needed to help acquaint both military and private industry personnel with the relatively new experience of private developers assuming the role of builder, renovator and eventual property manager.

The result was a professional designation developed by the three associations involved with military housing--the National Apartment Association, the Military Housing and Lodging Institute (MHLI) and the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).

Real estate development companies have contracted 50-year partnerships with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to privatize housing at their bases, located throughout the mainland United States and Hawaii. NAA, IREM and MHLI experts with specific expertise in their area of concentration conduct the courses, which cover all facets of property management from ethics to finances, as well as a course that focuses on bridging the divide that makes the military and private industry rental property management cultures different.

The CDPM I and II programs additionally emphasize teamwork, in-house property management, risk management and maintenance, financial strategies, deal making, budgeting and preventive maintenance.

"Our team members came from a variety of backgrounds and experiences--government housing, military service and conventional property management--and success in privatized military housing depends on partnerships between people from that variety of backgrounds," said Actus Lend Lease's Director of Training, Jennifer Fleming, CDPM. "They found that the CDPM class provided an excellent opportunity to network with peers and to learn more about those aspects of the business with which they were less familiar, and the course provides an excellent opportunity for these individuals to network and learn from others' experiences."

Bridging the Gaps

Williams, like many others involved with military housing privatization, welcomed the educational experience of the certification, but it did come with a learning curve.

"As a private industry company, our focus is much different than that of the military. For instance, occupancy and budgets, as well as customer service, are our priorities," she said. Williams noted that the military is driven by different fiscal realities and priorities, and that those priorities dictate how one does business.

BJ Cozart, Director of Property Management, Tri-Command Communities, Beaufort, S.C., said the CDPM certification class helped his transition from the private sector. "It gives individuals like myself coming from the private sector the knowledge and background information to properly manage the military assets and to understand the policies and how they relate to the Military Housing Privatization Initiative."

Williams said the educational experience was valuable, as was the opportunity to network with military personnel--in her case the Army, as Piceme partners exclusively with that branch of the service.

"We really do come from two different worlds, but this opportunity to network helps to bridge any gaps as we proceed with this housing privatization initiative," Williams said. For more information, visit www.mhli.org.

NAAEI Encourages Participation In Job Shadowing Day

With the goal of helping to promote the apartment industry as a viable career choice. NAA members, through NAAEI. are encouraged to participate in Ground Hog Job Shadow Day on Feb. 2.

The national program will allow employers to welcome high school students into their workplaces so the students can "'shadow" workplace mentors to see and experience what working in their respective industries is all about.

"'This is a great opportunity for high school students to gain firsthand experiences about what it's like to work at all levels of the apartment management industry," said NAAEI Executive Director Stephanie Powers. "From business and finance to customer service to maintenance and design, there is such a wide variety of exciting job skills used every day in apartment management. This is a chance for our employer members to show how attractive our industry is."

Job shadowing is an academically motivating activity designed to give students the unique opportunity of an up-close look at the world of work. Full details are available at www.jobshadow.org.

"This is just what our industry needs." said NAAEI Board member Tony Pusateri. CAPS, Senior Vice President. Property Services. Equity Residential Properties. "This will help apartment management companies build awareness of our industry as a viable career choice and develop a pipeline to prospective employees who are in high school."

Job shadowing is led by the National Job Shadow Coalition and is supported through a national sponsorship by ING and Nelnet

The program is a win-win situation. Each participant gains unique benefits from job shadowing:

For Students

* Provides an answer to the questions, "Why do I have to learn this?" and "Would I want to make this job my career?";

* Gives a view into all aspects involved in a job. Students can observe not only job characteristics and responsibilities, but also what each profession requires on a day-to-day basis; and

* Lets students learn what it takes to make it in their fields of interest from the people who know best: working professionals.

For Educators

* Helps motivate students to learn by demonstrating the tangible applications of classroom lessons: and

* Helps craft lesson plans around students' career interests.

For Employers

* Helps prepare the future workforce:

* Show's students career possibilities in different industries:

* Demonstrates a tangible commitment to supporting and improving the community;

* Creates a feeling of personal satisfaction that comes from mentoring a young person: and

* Promotes potential long-term mentoring relationships. For information, contact Toiya Hargrow at [e-mail].

B. Kreisler is with ImprintLLC, Manassas, Va. She can be reached at 703/366-2861 or [e-mail].