Much of the country and our industry have spent the past two years focused on employment. It’s jobs, job, jobs, as the pundits like to say when discussing the economy.
The apartment industry—led by NAA and its NAA Education Institute (NAAEI)—has been a catalyst for growth in awareness of the careers available in our industry at the management, leasing and maintenance levels.
NAAEI has received great support from NAA members and our affiliates. This year, as part of the 2011 NAA Education Conference & Exposition on June 23-25 in Las Vegas, NAAEI will honor the Texas Apartment Association Education Foundation (TAAEF) as the first recipient of its new Anthony V. Pusateri Apartment Career Promotion Award, which recognizes excellence and leadership in promoting the three apartment career paths: Maintenance, Leasing and Management.
The award is given to the individual, company or association that has made the biggest impact creating awareness of careers in the apartment industry among high school and college students, military veterans and spouses, or career changers through outreach activities.
Created by the Texas Apartment Association in 2002 to respond to increased demand for trained apartment industry professionals in Texas, TAAEF seeks to raise awareness about career opportunities in the industry while also assisting with industry education for people already working in the field.
Among its achievements is the four-year undergraduate degree in Residential Property Management (RPM) that is offered through the University of North Texas. The program prepares students for careers in the multifamily housing industry by providing them with skills, training and certifications they need to succeed in the industry. To date, TAAEF has provided more than $65,000 in scholarships to RPM students at the university. The foundation also holds events for the students throughout the year to help them connect with industry leaders and property management companies.
TAAEF works closely with local apartment associations around the state to encourage community colleges to offer continuing education courses to people looking to embark on a career in the industry. Colleges in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Tarrant County (Fort Worth) already have or will soon offer these programs—with others soon to follow.
As part of its Military Careers Initiative, TAAEF is reaching out to military spouses who need a career that is “portable” so that they can find employment no matter where their military spouse is stationed.
TAAEF also makes high school students aware of entry-level apartment career opportunities through appearances at high schools and job fairs using the foundation’s “Home Sweet Home: Career Opportunities in the Apartment Industry” video to highlight careers in the apartment industry.
The Anthony V. Pusateri Apartment Career Promotion Award was named in honor of the late Anthony V. Pusateri, CAPS, CPM, who was a Past President of NAA, an NAAEI founder and Institute of Real Estate Management faculty member.
Pusateri had the vision that the NAAEI would lead the apartment industry in the promotion of apartment careers and the creation of new pipelines of skilled talent, and he worked diligently to make it a reality. TAAEF will be recognized as part of the Friday general session at the 2011 NAA Education Conference & Exposition on June 24.
— NAA Chairman of the Board Michael E. Gorman, CAPS, CPM, CCIM