Thinking Ahead.

Preparing Tomorrow's Work Force

The multifamily housing industry is in a constant state of flux. Demand is always changing, the economy is always changing, and the business never seems the same from one day to the next. To succeed, property management needs to be on their toes just about every minute, anticipating that next trend and staying one step ahead of the competition.

So, in an industry that's always moving, what's the best way to prepare the next generation of professionals? How can today's multifamily housing professionals guarantee themselves and the industry a qualified pool of applicants for positions now and down the road?

Find the brightest up-and-comers, give them an education, and recruit them.

Giving it the Old College try

About 15 years ago, the Virginia State Finance Agency faced a unique dilemma: they couldn't find a qualified staff for their rental properties that catered to senior citizens. College graduates with business degrees could manage the day-to-day operations on paper, but didn't know how to deal with the agency's senior resident needs. On the other hand, social workers and nurses could cater to seniors, but couldn't manage the business side of a rental property. Hiring a half-staff of each kind of professional wouldn't work because a property manager needs to work with residents and balance the books.

Searching for an answer, they approached nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, a four-year university known for its strong curricula and innovative programs. Listening to the agency's dilemma, Tech administrators realized that an opportunity lay ahead of them to train and educate a possible future property management workforce.

"We pulled together a group of property management professionals from the Richmond area, and later, from the northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area," says Virginia Tech Professor Rosemary Goss. "We asked them, `If you could hire someone who had college training, what courses would you want them to have taken?'" Together, Virginia Tech representatives and property owners and managers selected an array of courses from the college's existing catalogue. From that list, they whittled down to 10 property management courses.

Major Prospects

The Residential Property Management major was born. Placed in the college of human resources and education instead of the business school, the program was designed to teach all aspects of property management, from balancing the books and tracking vacancies to meeting the special needs of elderly residents. While one general course was offered in retail and shopping center management, the rest of the program focused entirely on property management.

Next, the Virginia Tech team developed some specialized courses, including one on residential property management and property management for the elderly. They also hired a Certified Property Manager (CPM) with 15 years experience as an instructor.

Students in the program would take the prerequisite courses in math, English, and science, but they'd also take specialized courses. Maintenance for managers, general property management, and courses on managing specialized populations were just a few of the courses offered.

Additionally, courses were developed to give even more specialized information: barrier-free design; energy and the environment, which focuses on lead-based paint;, and a special study course focusing on managing real estate as an investment. Students can also take courses in accounting, finance, marketing, and management.

CAM Courses Give Graduates Edge

Courses were rounded out with field trips to Richmond or the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area to visit a wide array of properties and see first-hand the special requirements of each. Students meet with National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) staff to learn about legislative issues and regulations. Through a partnership with the National Apartment Association (NAA), students are able to sit for their Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) exams, giving them an extra edge when it came time to look for a job.

That CAM designation has become a highlight of the program, Goss says. "We've had 200 graduates," she says. "Only three have chosen to not sit for the exam."

Finally, each student is required to complete a 280-hour internship with a property. "Most of our students do two or three," Goss says.

Virginia Tech Sets Trend

Fifteen years after that first meeting with the Virginia agency, the results have been fantastic. Graduates are in demand from property management companies nationwide. "I don't know how much of my time is spent dealing with people in the industry who call me for interns and graduates," Goss says. "There's an incredible demand."

Thanks to that demand, other universities are starting to follow in Virginia Tech's footsteps, establishing property management programs of their own. So far, the University of Indiana has started a property management major, and Florida State University is finalizing its program for launch.

NAA members have recognized the value of the program as well, offering scholarship money and funds for things such as field trips and books. For the past four years, one NAA member has taken up to nine students to NAA's Annual Education Conference at his own expense, going so far as to provide them with breakfast and an informal seminar in his suite each morning of the event. The first few speakers at those morning meetings were sought out by administrators of the program. Goss says, "I get phone calls asking if these people can talk to the students this year." Not only college students are recognizing the value of education. NAA's certification programs are also growing in both popularity among students and demand from employers eager to hire NAA-certified professionals. Ron Shelton, CAPS, chairman of NAA's Education Committee, says that the designation programs can be taken individually or in succession, providing a clear career path:

* The National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP), offers sales and marketing coursework. To graduate from leasing professional to management, students complete the CAM program.

* The next step up the career ladder is to mid-level management. For that, the Certified Apartment Property Supervisor (CAPS) is ideal.

* Service technicians can take the Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician (CAMT) program, giving them the latest tips and technological advances in that field.

NAA Members Benefit

"It all makes them more professional," Shelton says of the benefit professionals receive from certification courses. Beyond the basics, the courses offer tips and shortcuts to improve efficiency, information on new trends and those coming down the pike, and an overview of what's going on in the industry locally, state-wide, and nationally.

"It's something that's been very helpful to my company and to myself," Shelton says.

Others agree. "The students really bond in class, and the whole class really pulls together," says Lisa Trosein, an industry author, speaker, and consultant and a regular contributor to Units. She puts additional value on the teachers of certification courses, saying that being taught by someone who started out in that same class years ago gives students something to shoot for.

Tomorrow's property management workforce has plenty of options to prepare for some of the challenges they'll face in the ever-changing multifamily housing industry.

Ms. Fernandez is a freelance writer for trade and consumer publications who lives in Bethesda, Md. A former managing editor of Units, she has written about the multifamily housing industry since 1984.