Congratulations to the first Maintenance Apprenticeship Program Graduates

A new Maintenance Apprenticeship Program (MAP) launched earlier this summer through the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. 24 students were enrolled in the first of five sessions. Over 80 percent of the students graduated from the program now most have full time jobs in the apartment industry.

MAP was created to help fill the current void of maintenance professionals and has been designed to train and equip candidates with the skills necessary for the growing multifamily industry. In partnership with Emily Griffith Technical College and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, this program places newly recruited talent through six weeks of skilled hands-on training and on-site job experience. Students must successfully complete 48 hours of in-class learning and 96 hours as an on-site apprentice.

There will be four additional sessions held with Emily Griffith Technical College by June 30, 2018. The goal is to have 20 students, per session, for a total of 100 enrolled students. According to the second quarter Apartment Insights Construction report, 33,775 apartments are under construction. Based on this report, it is estimated that 374 maintenance jobs will need to be filled by the end of 2018.

The Apartment Association of Metro Denver is covering the $70,000 in tuition assistance to put 100 students through the program at no cost to them.

The Apartment Association of Metro Denver received 93 applications for the July session and over 100 for the September session. Students completed the apprenticeship portion of MAP at different apartment communities throughout Denver represented by nine property management companies. Those management companies include: Alliance Residential, Aviva Properties, Camden, Echelon Property Group, Mission Rock Residential, IMT Residential, PK Management, Simpson Housing and Blue Sky Lofts.

Marvin Smith, a student from session one said, “It was an awesome six weeks and more than I could have ever expected.” Marvin was offered a full-time position with Mission Rock Residential at the completion of his program. Nathan Tann, another session one student, is in the middle of the hiring process with an apartment community and said “I have the opportunity and the resources to further this career in maintenance. All of this has been possible through the MAP program.”  Both candidates successfully completed and graduated from MAP in September.

If you are interested in learning more about or participating in MAP, please contact Lisa Godbehere for more information.