CIH Canada opens its doors to Ontario housing professionals Founders’ Program and initial course offerings are first steps in CIH’s goal to attract, develop and accredit housing sector talent.
Ask people who work in housing how they arrived there and few will say that it was their chosen profession. Many however, will tell you that they became part of the housing sector by chance or circumstance. To a large extent, that’s because you can’t study housing in school – unlike careers in business, teaching, law or social work, Canadian postsecondary institutions do not offer training in housing. As a result, most housing professionals have had to learn on the job as they go. But with baby boomers now reaching retirement age, valuable knowledge gained through work experience is being lost and the sector will need to compete more heavily with other sectors to attract, develop and retain the best and brightest.
How it works CIH Canada currently offers two attainment levels for housing professionals in Ontario. For junior or aspiring housing professionals who are looking for careers in housing management, it offers the Certified Housing Professional program. In this program, participants complete courses on managing buildings; managing people and organizations; housing management and the social housing framework. As in school, participants must complete assignments, which are then assessed by an instructor. CIH Canada also offers a ‘Challenge Program’ for people who seek this accreditation but need to fill smaller knowledge gaps. Challenge Program participants complete their course of study independently and simply submit assignments for assessment. Those who have previous designations from IHM or REIC may qualify for course exemptions.
To address this issue and to help housing professionals stay on top of the current trends, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Canada was created. The Chartered Institute of Housing was first established about 100 years ago to set professional standards for the housing industry in the United Kingdom. Today it has over 21,000 members and offers accreditation programs in the U.K., Ireland and Hong Kong. Alongside its member services, CIH produces training, publications, conferences and seminars. It also works with universities to develop housing qualifications, and provides distance learning courses.
For those with more experience, or who have already graduated from the Certified Housing Professional program, CIH Canada offers the Chartered Housing Professional program. This program prepares participants for leadership roles and offers more advanced courses on asset management; housing policy; housing and society; and managing people and organizational strategy. Both programs are being delivered via eLearning and require approximately six hours per week of study. Participants need to apply by October 22, 2013, with courses in Managing Buildings (Certified Housing Professional level) and Asset Management (Chartered Housing Professional level) beginning in November 2013. You can sign up for individual courses and proceed with
CIH Canada was officially launched earlier this year, thanks to a partnership between the CIH-UK and the Housing Services Corporation. Darlene Cook, CEO of Peterborough Housing Corporation, is its Executive Director. It is now preparing to offer its first courses and has launched a ‘Founders’ Program’ for a group of approximately 30 senior housing executives from across Canada.
ONTARIO NON-PROFIT HOUSING ASSOCIATION
20
QUICK CONNECTIONS September 2013
Member Support Questions? Answered! • RGI calculations • Legislation, including HSA • Preventive maintenance
• Governance • Tenant issues • LTB processes
getting your designation at your own pace or register to complete the full course load within 18 months. Senior housing executives in the Founders Program will begin their studies in October 2013 and will complete their requirements to become Chartered Housing Professionals in February 2014. More information For more information on the CIH Canada programs and application forms, visit www.cih.org/canada or contact Darlene Cook at dcook@hscorp.ca. Contact the Member Support Team:
416-927-9144 • 1-800-297-6660 member.support@onpha.org
HAPPY RESIDENTS AND QUICK FIXES TEND TO GO HAND-IN-HAND.
PARTNER
Our goal is helping you maintain satisfied residents. With technology that makes ordering easy, an inventory of over 8,500 maintenance and repair supplies, plus next day freight free delivery†—we serve you efficiently and professionally.
Delivered by professionals. For professionals.
Phone: 1-800-782-0557 | Fax: 1-800-782-2517 | hdsupply.ca ADV-12-6667 †
We deliver freight free to most major cities. Freight-free cities include Toronto and GTA, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver and GVA, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. Special orders, customized, factory direct, and non-catalogue items have extra charges, quoted on request. Orders less than $100 are subject to a $25 handling fee. © 2012 HDS IP Holding, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ONTARIO NON-PROFIT HOUSING ASSOCIATION
21
QUICK CONNECTIONS September 2013