Tony Thompson, CMB, of NAMMBA: Creating Professionals Out of College Students
Tony Thompson, CMB, founded the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America in 2016. NAMMBA is a purpose-driven organization dedicated to inclusion of women and minorities in the mortgage industry who are advocates for sustainable homeownership in local communities. Its mission is to increase the engagement of women and minorities in the mortgage industry by actively being involved at the local, state and national level of the Mortgage Bankers Association. To learn more about NAMMBA, log on to www.nammba.org.
It’s no secret that our industry has an age problem. More and more of our leadership is aging out and retiring…while more and more students graduate from college with debt, a degree and no real plan forward after the cap and gown ceremony.
This is a great opportunity to grab the attention of young, ambitious talent that needs guidance in not only financial education but also career development – specifically in the real estate and finance market.
We all know it was a mad scramble the last couple of years, trying to find capable professionals to fill the demand of an overheated market. Now that things have equalized again, it’s time to start developing a professional career pipeline to fill current and future needs with college students and graduates. We don’t need another mad scramble. We need a plan!
I know that when I first got started, I had to learn everything on the job…it was like drinking from a firehose. I was used to being the smartest guy in the room, but when it came to mortgage finance, I was lost for a bit. My employer was great about it, made sure that I knew this was the process for everyone…but what if it didn’t have to be? Or what if not everyone was as fortunate as I was to have a boss that could take the critical time with their employees?
Talent Hub was developed specifically for college students and recent graduates not only to help them understand mortgage finance, but to help them choose it as a career.
When students and grads sign up for Talent Hub, they have access to mentorship, financial education, mental health & wellness tools, scholarships, webinars, events & networking opportunities, community & industry news, as well as job opportunities for grads getting their feet under them. It’s like LinkedIn for college students.
Talent Hub is a part of NAMMBA’s ambitious Mission2025, to get 50,000+ College Students into the Mortgage Finance Industry by 2025.
With Talent Hub as an online recruitment platform for our partners, as well as a tool for potential employees, NAMMBA can support the leadership of the future by giving them a hand up at the beginning of their careers.
To find out more about Talent Hub, mentorship, and how you can encourage college students to choose a career in the mortgage industry, I’d encourage you to contact my team at info@nammbaconsulting.com or visit www.nammbaconsulting.com.
(Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect policy of the Mortgage Bankers Association, nor do they connote an MBA endorsement of a specific company, product or service. MBA NewsLink welcomes your submissions. Inquiries can be sent to Mike Sorohan, editor, at msorohan@mba.org; or Michael Tucker, editorial manager, at mtucker@mba.org.)
