South Africans Johan Kruger and Boet Grobler have become two of just five people outside of the USA to achieve the world’s highest and most prestigious formal qualification in the professional management of residential community estates.
South Africans Johan Kruger and Boet Grobler have become two of just five people outside of the USA to achieve the world’s highest and most prestigious formal qualification in the professional management of residential community estates.
This is according to Jeff Gilmour, President of the Association of Residential Communities (ARC), who says the other three, non-US holders of the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation are based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Kruger is the manager of Pecanwood Estate, which lies on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West province, while Grobler manages Cedar Lakes Residential Estate in Fourways, on the north-west fringe of Johannesburg.
The PCAM designation and the stepping-stone qualifications that lead up to it – Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) and Association Management Specialist (AMS) – are provided by the Community Associations Institute (CAI) of the USA, where 62 million Americans live in 315 000 managed gated communities.
Gilmour says while they continue to manage their respective estates, Johan and Boet will help form the nucleus of a new national training initiative that will now provide the same curriculum to other South African estate managers who aspire to equally high levels of professional qualification.
Gilmour will be co-managing the initiative under the umbrella of the Community Associations Institute of South Africa (CAISA), the new South African Chapter of the CAI (and the only one outside of the USA), which was registered at the beginning of March 2013 in association with ARC.
He says the CAISA training and education venture reinforces their dedication to improving the quality, effectiveness and professionalism of gated estate management throughout South Africa.
PCAM has been described as the equivalent of a Master’s degree in residential estate management, says Gilmour.
Kruger says PCAM is not easy to achieve as it requires huge personal commitment in terms of time, hard work, diligence and determination. So much so that, in the 30 years that it has been in existence, PCAM has been awarded to only 2 500 estate managers – virtually all in the USA, he says.
“For geographically remote non-US resident estate managers like those of us in South Africa, the task has been even more formidable in terms of travel and accommodation costs, and time spent away from our homes and estates.”
Kruger says CAISA will not only change all that but will also put PCAM within easy reach of estate management professionals throughout South Africa.
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