National Designation Month

Leadership, Credibility, Prestige: The Value of Designations

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Education offers professional development programs to building industry professionals nationwide that enhance their areas of expertise and increase their ability to assist the consumer.

Professional designees stay up to speed on the latest developments in business, building methods, and technology while showing clients they have the know-how and dedication to earn a professional designation. Potential clients can use designations to help identify and select professionals with superior training, real-world experience and in-depth knowledge of their area of need. Designees are listed in The Professional Designation Directory on nahb.org, making their contact info easily accessible to consumers.

Access to real-world information and great leadership opportunities are benefits typically mentioned by designees. However, graduates also routinely express that the chance to network with expert instructors and their peers is a huge plus.

Students develop a nationwide network of colleagues that they consistently return to as sounding boards for challenges and ideas long after their courses have completed. This chance to network with so many fellow industry pros often brings people back to obtain more designations.

Earning a designation from NAHB is hard work and the rigorous coursework is continually being elevated. Still, according to NAHB, builders and remodelers are as eager as ever to enroll.

A designation requires us to study and learn more about our industry. It says to our clients, I am continually improving myself as an industry professional by studying the best practices of our national industry. It also says that they are using that knowledge gained from the collective experience of our industry to give clients a better result in their project.

NAHB’s commitment to offering industry professionals the best, most-extensive continuing education program is evident in the diverse array of programs. Most designations cover industry basics such as marketing and business techniques, however, specialized coursework includes agingin-place remodeling, property management, green building and more.

Through NAHB Education, industry pros can earn professional designations in any one of 13 areas. Many of the North Coast Industry Association members hold one or more of these designations. Get more information by calling us at 440-934-1090 or by going to nahb.org/ designations.

• Certified Graduate Associate (CGA): Developed specifically for NAHB associate members (including suppliers of materials and financial services), the CGA program offers participants an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of home building industry fundamentals.

• Certified Graduate Builder (CGB): An overview of key areas in today’s home building industry, the CGB curriculum covers business management, financial strategies, marketing techniques, construction technologies, and more.

• Graduate Master Builder (GMB): The GMB program allows industry professionals who already have completed either the Certified Graduate Builder or the Certified Graduate Remodeler course to more fully develop their skills and provides indepth instruction geared for experienced building professionals.

• Certified Green Professional™ (CGP): NAHB’s CGP designation teaches builders, remodelers and other industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes—without driving up the cost of construction.

• Master Certified Green Professional (Master CGP): The Master CGP designation comprises a more in-depth study of green building science and methods. The courses required for the designation cover topics like building science techniques, the highperformance home and marketing strategies for selling green.

• Certified Graduate RemodelerTM (CGR): An exclusive professional designation that emphasizes business management skills as the key to a professional remodeling operation, the CGR designation trains remodelers in project management, design estimating and job cost, along with other core skills relevant to the remodeling industry.

• Graduate Master Remodeler (GMR): The GMR program includes advanced and updated courses geared toward experienced remodeling professionals.

• Certified Agingin-Place Specialist (CAPS): Developed by NAHB Remodelers in collaboration with the AARP, NAHB Research Center and NAHB 50+ Housing Council, the CAPS program provides comprehensive, practical,

market-specific information about working with older and maturing adults to remodel their homes for aging-in-place.

• Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP): The CSP program is designed to help specialists in new home sales to enhance their professional image, increase their marketability in the home building industry and sell more homes.

• Master Certified New Home Sales Professional (Master CSP): A more advanced designation that acknowledges additional educational achievements of CSP graduates, the Master CSP program is open to professionals currently holding a CSP designation. Advanced courses such as “House Construction as a Selling Tool” and “Essential Closing Strategies” are targeted toward improving participants’ sales and marketing skills and providing increased marketability in the industry.

• Certified New Home Marketing Professional (CMP): IRM’s midlevel professional designation, the CMP program recognizes the achievements of students who have completed four marketing-intensive core IRM courses: “Understanding Housing Markets and Consumers;” “Marketing Strategies, Plans, and Budgets;” “Lifestyle Merchandising, Advertising, and Promotion Strategies;” and “Challenges of New Home Sales Management.”

• Master in Residential Marketing (MIRM): The most prestigious designation bestowed by the Institute of Residential Marketing, the MIRM represents the highest level of achievement for professionals in new home marketing. MIRM graduates are required to complete all mandated coursework and submit a case study for approval before graduating from the program.

• Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP): A specialized designation for developers, property managers, asset managers and others working in the affordable housing industry, the HCCP program is the industry benchmark for education, experience and ethical standards for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) professionals. The HCCP designation is the only nationally endorsed credential of its kind, and was created through a partnership of NAHB and the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA).

Our association is dedicated to promoting, protecting, strengthening and informing our local home building markets and those who work within them to ensure we are, independently and collectively are a viable economic engine of growth now and in the future. Please feel free to use the NCBIA as a resource for any need that you may have, chances are we have a member that can assist you (from Accountants to Window Cleaning). Give us a call Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 440-934-1090 or visit our website for a list of our members www. ncbia.com. We are your local not-for profit trade association representing member companies involved in all aspects of home building, remodeling, and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction.

Be sure to visit our Virtual Home Tour at ncbia.com. New homes will be added so stop in often! Open 24/7.

Save the Date for our Free Home Show – March 31 – April 1 – Emerald Event Center in Avon. Come and see a “Tiny House” and a variety of our members showcasing how they can help you!

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Judie Docs