CCIM Bringing Veterans Into Real Estate

 

Robin Webb, president-elect of CCIM Institute, says the CCIM Vets in Real Estate Program is set to expand.

CHICAGO— CCIM Institute , an expert in commercial real estate education, has just joined forces with the US Department of Veterans Affairs and several of the most influential companies in the industry to bring more military veterans into commercial real estate. The most important development is that for the first time veterans can now get funding through the GI Bill to pay for the Chicago-based institute’s professional education course. “Veterans are a proven quality who have served their country,” Robin L. Webb , president-elect of CCIM, tells GlobeSt.com. And although there is no real relationship between military training and working in world of real estate, military experience “gives them a leg up on the discipline required.”    M arcus & Millichap , Ten-X , and Colliers International , all members of the CCIM Institute Advisory Council , have all agreed to develop a bona fide path to employment for CCIM-educated vets in the profession. “We are all out there trying to help veterans as they return to civilian life.” That return can present challenges. While the US unemployment rate in March was 5% overall, unemployment for vets rose to 6.3%. The executive office of President Barack Obama reported in 2014 that between 240,000 to 360,000 men and women leave the US military annually. The commercial real estate profession is graying, experts report, with an average practitioner age of 60 years. The field needs an annual influx of 25,000 new professionals both to replenish those who are retiring and to meet the uptick in demand. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median annual income of commercial Realtors was $126,900 in 2014 compared to the median U.S. household income of $51,939 in 2014, according to the US Census Bureau . Currently, CCIM has about 125 students who are veterans. “The program is in its embryonic stage,” says Webb, but after winning approval from the federal government to use funding through the GI Bill, the institute expects that number to significantly increase. For the launch of CCIM Vets in Real Estate Program, vets can take CCIM courses at the Levine Center at CCIM Institute headquarters in Chicago. Students who are vets may apply for stipends to pay for transportation, hotel, and meals. As the program evolves, the Institute will “work to spread it across the country.” “At Ten-X, we are always looking for ways to invest in strategic talent pipelines, and we view our nation’s veterans and their loved ones as one such talent channel,” says Chris Galy , chief people officer at Ten-X in Belmont, CA. “Partnering with CCIM Institute to build a deeper bench of self-motivated, highly dependable, and dedicated service members is a huge opportunity to fuel our future growth. This just isn’t about supporting veterans. It’s great business.”