The Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMT) program became one of only seven certificate programs in the country to receive accreditation under a pilot program through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
No one could have scripted it better. At the NAA Education Institute (NAAEI) Board meeting, tucked away in a meeting room at the 2010 NAA Education Conference & Exposition in New Orleans, the announcement was met with a standing ovation: NAAEI’s maintenance program had achieved national accreditation after a year-long, stringent evaluation process.
Just like that, the Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMT) program became one of only seven certificate programs in the country to receive accreditation under a pilot program through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. NAAEI shares this honor with such organizations as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center.
In 2009, NAAEI was honored by its selection to participate in ANSI’s pilot Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP). At the time, NAAEI was one of 11 national organizations vying for program accreditation.
“As one of the first organizations chosen to participate in the ANSI Certificate Accreditation Program, NAAEI is part of a very select group. The ANSI-CAP accreditation of CAMT provides national and international recognition of the quality of the CAMT training program,” says Scott Wilkerson, President and COO of BBR Management LLC, in Charlotte, N.C. “Employers will be able to confidently use CAMT as a way to recognize apartment maintenance staff who have the training and skills needed at our communities. Accreditation also recognizes the NAAEI’s ongoing commitment to offer excellent professional education programs that provide real value to our members.”
It was NAAEI’s goal, by pursuing CAMT accreditation, to demonstrate its commitment to the continual improvement of its designation or certificate programs and the fulfillment of its mission to stay on the forefront of industry education.
By accrediting the certificate program, ANSI essentially is stating that with NAAEI’s compliance to this standard, CAMT will develop skilled and qualified maintenance professionals.
“ANSI accreditation of CAMT is not only a huge win for NAAEI, but also a big leap forward for the industry,” says Maitri Johnson, CAPS, Chair of the NAAEI Curriculum and Development committee and Executive Vice President of Riverstone Residential-Central Division in Greenwood Village, Colo. “ANSI assessors reviewed every aspect of the CAMT program: the skill standards, curriculum, instructors and administration. It was not an easy task. The value of CAMT has just been elevated to an unmatched level and we will encourage more of our service team members to enhance their self development with the CAMT certificate. CAMT is an outstanding program that is now validated as one of the best with the ANSI accreditation.”
The CAMT program had been re-written in 2008 to correlate with NAAEI’s Maintenance Technician Skill Standards. The Skill Standards were developed after a Maintenance Technician Job Task Analysis was conducted and validated by a survey amongst maintenance technicians in the field.
These changes were meant to improve a maintenance professional’s technical, business and personal development skills. The uniqueness of the program, which also includes hands-on training in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, appliance, and interior and exterior maintenance and repair, made NAAEI’s CAMT program an excellent model for the accreditation pilot.
In January 2010, NAAEI hosted ANSI assessors at NAA headquarters in Arlington, Va. As standard practice, the ANSI assessors combed through the CAMT program, piece by piece, interviewing NAAEI staff and NAA affiliates on the processes for enrollments, instruction, testing and the process of issuing certificates.
The ANSI review process is three-tiered: Application materials are first reviewed by two assessors, both onsite and offsite. The assessors report their findings to an ANSI reviewing panel, using the documentation provided by NAAEI and the assessors. The report is then forwarded to a 20-member ANSI accreditation committee for voting.
“ANSI is the only organization that goes onsite to verify what cannot be seen on paper—no other accreditation program does this,” says Roy Swift, ANSI’s Program Director, Personnel Certification Accreditation Program. “ANSI’s assessors, who undergo five days of training and are required to pass a course-related examination, do not make the final accreditation decision. Rather, they assess the program and pass on their findings to other groups who vote on the final decision.”
The news, made public at the NAA Conference at the end of June, will create immediate benefits for NAA affiliates.
“Accreditation of the CAMT program will impact every community in Jacksonville,” says Peggy Queen, Executive Vice President of the First Coast Apartment Association. “In Jacksonville, we have specific licensure implications in the apartment maintenance field and the current licensing test has only a 50 percent pass rate, resulting in a shortage of qualified people. We hope that CAMT, as an accredited program through ANSI, will serve as a substitute for this credential. The ANSI accreditation has already made the difference in opening the door to discuss the adoption of CAMT for apartment maintenance licensing.”
Besides being one of seven programs recognized by ANSI-CAP, NAAEI is one of only three property management organizations whose training programs have achieved national accreditation, including Community Associations Institute (CAI), accredited by the Institute of Credentialing Excellence (ICE), and BOMI Institute, accredited by the American Council on Education (ACE).
The CAMT program is made available through local NAA affiliate organizations and through NAAEI’s National Training program. Pablo Paz, CAMT, an instructor with over 20 years of apartment maintenance and maintenance training experience, facilitates the course. For more information on CAMT and to find a course in your area, contact NAAEI’s Program Manager, Kim McCrossen at 703/797-0610 or kimberlymccrossen@naahq.org.
To review the Maintenance Technician Skill Standards and the CAMT Syllabus, visit www.naahq.org/CAMT.
Julie Barden is NAAEI’s Manager of Communications and Affiliate Relations. She can be reached at 703/797-0691 or juliebarden@naahq.org.