Samuel Bello, Abuja
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has said that without proper consideration of industry succession planning, the visibility and value of Facility Management (FM) profession on the African continent will erode quickly, especially in emerging economies.
Speaking during the official launch of The Heritage Foundation for the support of facilities and workplace management practice in emerging economies, in Abuja, EuroFM Ambassador to Nigeria and initiator, Collins Osayamwen urged companies driven by the need to remain competitive and retain critical survival capabilities in a fast changing marketplace to commit themselves to Facility Management services.
Osayamwen said the occasion, which was also his golden jubilee birthday celebration, was organised to promote Facility Management growth by facilitating inter-country industry collaboration to expand the scope and reach of the profession, which includes strengthening existing laws and advocating for creation of state-backed laws where non-existent.
“More than half of today’s facilities and workplace management practitioners are expected to retire within the next 5 to 15 years.
“Research shows that the average age of a practicing Financial Manager is 49 years. We are experiencing increased demand for qualified talents however, the gap is widening between available talents and job demand.
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“Facility Management is not all about the condition of the building but the quality of life of the people using the building.
“The challenge is that there are no structures in place to encourage growth of the profession in terms of attracting and training talents to fill the ever increasing demand for skilled facilities and workplace practitioners.
“Clearly, many facility managers will continue to come into the field from other disciplines. However, if this source of alerts is supplemented by people who start with facilities management as their intended career, the outcome will be more far-reaching,” said Osayamwen.