Why NCHM?

Created by the Secretary of HUD in 1972 at the direction of an Executive Order of the President of the United States (read the full text here), NCHM is the leading provider of job training and certification in the affordable housing industry. Since its inception, more than 125,000 professionals have earned NCHM certifications and each year more than 10,000 attend one or more of its training and career development programs.

NCHM also has strong relationships with management organizations and property owners across the country and we are certain that their generosity will be abundant as we look to them for support and placement opportunities for our veterans.

Veterans for Housing is more a than a good idea in theory. It has a proven track record. In the mid 1990s NCHM’s Leadership Employment for Armed Services Personnel (“LEAP”) program successfully retrained 200 military personnel for careers in affordable housing management. These men and women were among the thousands of armed services personnel caught up in the downsizing of the U.S. military that was taking place at that time. With financial support from the Department of Labor (DOL) and assistance from housing management companies and housing agencies, NCHM was able to re-train and place 100% of LEAP graduates in jobs in the field. This result prompted the Secretary of Labor to call LEAP “the most successful jobs training program ever sponsored by the DOL.” Through the Veterans for Housing Initiative, NCHM will apply what was learned from LEAP to the needs and realities of the 21st century.