RISE UP: THE FUTURE OF MULTIFAMILY

As part of National Apartment Association’s Diversity Leadership Program, participants must complete a capstone presentation that provides a way for NAA to support diversity within our industry.

For their project, Faith Barker and Nikita Bhappu Abbaspour dreamed up RISE UP: The Future of Multifamily. The idea behind this is a way to purposely bring diverse leaders into the industry while providing a more equitable opportunity for them to learn, grow, and advance.

Multifamily is an ideal industry for several reasons: employees are often given rent discounts of up to 20%, steady jobs with regular hours, a stable industry (housing is always needed!), no requirement for a college degree, and many ways to advance. For diverse populations, who don’t have generational wealth, more often are victims to housing insecurity than white counterparts, and may not have the funds to afford college (if they even would want to), multifamily may be the answer to their needs.

The concept is simple: Get diverse leaders between 16-24 year old in for internships or apprenticeships through NAA and affiliated organizations. Through RISE UP, these leaders learn the skills needed to begin a career in multifamily while also working with a management company or supplier partner as a paid intern or apprentice making above minimum wage. Upon completing the program, the companies can choose to hire them or be used as a reference, and participants will be eligible for a discount on NAA credentials.

This becomes a win-win for companies, too. These future leaders see their companies as influencers and top companies to work for. At the same time, these companies get to use the internship/apprenticeship as a “trial run” to see if these leaders are a good fit for their company. If so, the onboarding process is now shorter and easier for their staff. Plus, no staffing fees that recruiters’ offices charge.

To attract young leaders, NAA will use traditional methods, such as job fairs and career counselors, as well as digital means, like TikTok and Instagram ads. When users interact with the ads, they will be sent to a landing page to learn more about RISE UP. The call-to-action will ask users to provide contact information so that NAA can reach out and further discuss the program with them and sign them up for the next session.

This concept was the winning idea for 2022. See below for presentation slides.