Experts have charged professionals in the built environment to embrace facility management to enhance their competencies in the industry.
President, Association of Facilities Management Practitioners of Nigeria (AFMPN), Dr Paul Erubami, led the charge at the sixth edition of the facilities management and maintenance repair certificate course workshop organised by the Nigerian Institution of Builders in Facilities Management (NIBIFM), in conjunction with the Nigerian Academy of Facility Managers (NAFM), a division of the Nigerian Institute of Building and in partnership with ALISON United Kingdom in Lagos.
He said there was a need for the participation of all professionals in the built environment in facility management through training and retraining, adding that their participation will help to grow the industry.
To achieve the feat, Erubami emphasised that trained professionals are pioneering the industry, as there are potential opportunities for advancement and growth.
He disclosed that the bill, which will enhance the practice of the profession, has scaled through the first reading before the House of Representatives. He said it is being prepared for a second hearing, while public hearing and second reading, hoping that this could be achieved before the year ends.
He said the bill will recognise facility management as a profession in the built environment, making it the eighth profession in the sector, and creating standards for those who aspire to practice facility management in the country.
He further said the dearth of core professionals to manage facilities affects organisations in terms of improper management of energy, which could lead to huge financial loss, and clients are not getting value for their money.
NIBIFM Chairman, Mr Apatre Ndaw, said the institution has developed a curriculum on National Diploma for Polytechnics. The curriculum, he said, has been sent to the Yaba College of Technology’s Department of Building Technology.
He said since inception, some of its trainees have been promoted in their workplaces, while others have facilities management departments created for them to head.
In furtherance of the strides, he disclosed that from next year’s October, the institution would commence its facility management course, which will be 100 per cent practical and mandatory for every member. He encouraged members to actively participate, and contribute to the collective learning experience.
Past National Chairman, NIBIFM, Dr Olufemi Akinsola, noted that some professionals do not have core training in facility management, stressing that it is important they become competent through workshops. According to him, untrained people trigger haphazard maintenance of buildings, and urged federal, states, organisations and individuals to adopt a maintenance culture.
