Over the past 20 years Concert has supported trades training by contributing $2.7 million to programs across Canada, but we also look for opportunities to support education more broadly within the real estate development industry.
“It’s important to support the next generation of leaders in our industry across the various stages of their education and career development,” says David Podmore, Concert Board Chair and CEO. “This past year we provided students from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Management Diploma with opportunities to advance their learning.”
At the Sauder School of Business, the Concert Properties Leaders’ Award was established to offer financial aid to an outstanding undergraduate student entering their fourth year in the Real Estate option on the Bachelor of Commerce program. Preference is given to a student who has demonstrated leadership and service. This year the award was given to Stephanie Yeargin, whose involvement with the UBC Real Estate Club and the NAIOP Real Estate Challenge made her an excellent candidate.
“I am incredibly happy to have received this award so that I can more easily focus on my courses and community involvement,” says Stephanie. “No words can express how lucky I feel for being recognized and relieved of the worries of tuition and living as a result.”
Concert was also happy to welcome three BCIT students, Willow Mair, Davis Chorney and Armin Delnavaz, into our offices beginning February 2017 to complete the final term of their Business Management Diploma.
“We’ve been fortunate with this project,” says Davis. “Typically during this component of the program you get assigned a data analysis project, but we were able to come to Concert and do something a little different.”
The students proposed a research project that would align with select Human Resource department goals. Their aim was to identify an external management and consulting firm that would serve Human Resources best in conducting staff engagement surveys.
The group implemented their research in two phases. First they underwent a cultural analysis where they met with management across the company to gain insight into Concert’s processes. Second, they identified and evaluated real-world firms, assessing their relative pros and cons.
“We talked to people in managerial roles and got to understand how they manage their teams,” says Armin. “It really brought us a lot of insight that ties back into what we’ve been studying.”
The students then integrated their recommendations into a presentation to BCIT advisors and Concert staff, including David Podmore, who attended to support the students and provide feedback.
“Getting to see the relationship between what we’ve been learning in school and what happens in the real world has been a really great opportunity for us,” says Willow.