After nearly 50 years of existence, most housing professionals, particularly those in the affordable housing world, know the National Center for Housing Management as the leading organization for training and certification. While the Presidential Executive Order that created NCHM in 1972 charged us with the mandate to educate and certify it also called on us to “establish and expand recruitment and placement systems that link training in housing management to job opportunities in the field”. The demand for qualified personnel in housing management has never been greater. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, property management companies and other related organizations have struggled to find the talent they need to succeed.
In 2019 NCHM launched a program to help address this need. Our Veterans for Housing Initiative (VHI) was created to draw attention to the incredible pool of talent that exists within the veteran community, particularly those who are transitioning from military to civilian life. Through VHI, NCHM is doing its part by offering scholarships to NCHM courses for veterans and transitioning servicemembers with an interest in careers in housing management. In the future we hope to expand the scholarship program beyond veterans to others who are not presently in the industry.
Education and training are one part of the equation. The other is connecting trained and certified professionals with the right employers. To help with that, NCHM has “soft launched” our National Registry of Verified Employers. The Registry provides a direct link to jobs where the employer requires or prefers an NCHM certified professional. Interested parties can search employers by State and type of certification, get some basic information on the organization such as its mission and number of yearly hires, and, if desired, go directly to the job board or careers page of that organization.
The National Registry of Verified Employers can be accessed from the “Resources” tab of the NCHM website at nchm.org or via the NCHM Learning Center dashboard under “Resources”.
Listing on the National Registry is initially limited to organizations who meet the following criteria:
- An organization with a history of training/certifying a significant number of its staff through relevant NCHM programs in proportion to the number of units/properties/staff in management.
- An organization that requires or gives preference to applicants for relevant positions to possess (or acquire after employment) the NCHM certification(s) appropriate to the position.
- An organization that has a track record of maintaining high professional standards through such means as requiring or encouraging employees to keep their NCHM certifications active, participating in continuing education offered by NCHM, and/or participating in periodic training, webinars and other career development offered by NCHM.
In the coming months NCHM will be expanding its programming to help meet our mandate to recruit and place qualified professionals in jobs throughout the property management industry. We encourage you to check out the National Registry of Verified Employers and look for future updates about our career development for housing management professionals.