One Texas property manager rolls up her sleeves to earn her CAMT designation and gain a better understanding of the life of a maintenance technician.
Property Manager Kami Shore had never picked up so much as a hammer on the job—which is why her maintenance staff was shocked when she enrolled in NAA Education Institute’s (NAAEI) Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMT) course this fall.
“My maintenance staff was a bit hesitant and couldn’t understand why I wanted to take the class,” says Shore, who works at The Wyndham Apartments, a 144-unit community managed by Duckworth Realty in Lubbock, Texas. “They tried to talk me out of it. I’m not sure if they were more scared for me or for themselves.”
Despite their hesitancy, Shore says she wanted to challenge herself, learn more about a part of the industry with which she was very unfamiliar, and earn an ANSI-certified designation.
Shore enrolled in the CAMT course in October through the Lubbock Apartment Association and was the only female in the class of 16—and one of very few women in the history of the course.
“I think it was very courageous and forward-thinking for a manager—and a female—to step into that arena and do that,” says Jeff Lowry, NAAEI President and Senior Vice President of Multifamily Housing for McDougal Companies, who sent 10 maintenance employees to the same evening course. “She gets accolades and kudos.”
The learning curve was steep, but Shore says she went in with an open mind and quickly became one of the guys. “Everyone in the class loved sharing their war stories with me, and our instructor, [NAAEI’s] Pablo Paz, was so knowledgeable and patient,” she says.
Shore’s maintenance staff soon warmed to the idea, too, and began quizzing her on every new, interesting work order they received. “They would have me diagnose a damaged dishwasher or refrigerator and tell me whether or not I was correct,” Shore says. “They could see my enthusiasm with each new thing I learned and developed a new kind of respect for me.”
After completing the CAMT curriculum and passing a final exam, Shore noticed a significant improvement in communication with her maintenance technicians and says she has a greater appreciation and understanding of their daily job requirements. “Now that I know the maintenance lingo, we can talk about parts and supplies in a very different way than we did before,” Shore says. “I also understand which tasks take longer and are more difficult to complete, so I’m more considerate of their time.”
Shore says she also has more confidence in herself as a property manager. “I feel more qualified to choose which appliances could be fixed rather than replaced, and when a resident calls about a work order, I know exactly what questions to ask,” she says. “When I give my maintenance staff the work order, I tell them what I think is to blame for the problem. They get a big kick out of it.”
The maintenance team has been impressed with Shore’s newfound knowledge and frequently invites her to accompany them on work orders. “It’s great that she’s interested and asking a lot of questions—and it’s fun to take her out with us,” says Elias Rocha, a Service Technician at The Wyndham Apartments. “Now she knows that when it comes to work orders, sometimes the problem is more complicated than what you see on paper.”
Shore also put her skills to use last month, wowing her maintenance staff when she fixed a PVC line that burst without any assistance—yet another example of the expertise Shore has taken away from her CAMT experience. “You don’t have to give up your day job,” she says, “but having this maintenance knowledge as a property manager will change you and your community’s bottom line for the better.”
To learn more about NAAEI’s CAMT designation, visit www.naahq.org/CAMT.
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NAAEI Career Fair Participants Land Jobs
For two graduates of NAAEI’s Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMT) program, offered at Montgomery College’s Rockville, Md., campus for the first time this fall, the classroom instruction and subsequent career fair already have paid off.
Henry Colon’ received a job offer as a Service Technician at Overlook Apartments, a community operated by Realty Management in Hyattsville, Md., and began his position at the beginning of December. “I certainly owe much of my new-found success to NAAEI’s desire to prepare us for new careers,” says Colon’, who worked as a project manager for the federal government before looking to the apartment industry for a more stable, hands-on career. “I’ve already faced many challenges on the job, and I’m grateful we discussed many similar scenarios during the CAMT course.”
Classmate Juan Pineda was equally fortunate. Hired by Equity Residential, Pineda began his job as a Maintenance Technician at Canterbury Apartments in Germantown, Md., just three weeks after speaking to recruiters at the Montgomery College maintenance career fair in November. (The career fair was featured on page 26 of the December 2010 issue of units.)
Pineda also had a job interview at a community managed by Riverstone Residential, but says he chose Canterbury Apartments because it was only 15 minutes from his home. “My experience in the first few weeks has been great,” Pineda says. “The knowledge I achieved from the CAMT course is helping me a great deal, and in less than a month, I have started a new career in the apartment industry.” –NAA’s Lauren Boston