Facilities Management FAQs

What is Facilities Management?

Facilities Management is a profession charged to provide organizations with an appropriate built environment.  Facilities Managers represent an organization’s interests with respect to the facility assets: they translate the strategic requirements of the organization into facilities master plans; they identify optimal real estate investments; they manage real estate transactions and capital construction project; they enhance the organization’s productivity and staff satisfaction through effective building operations and maintenance; and they provide the necessary facility support services to optimize organizational performance.

Facilities Management is a management discipline with a specific focus on the built environment. It combines general management studies (strategy, leadership, communication, finance, accounting, law) with facility-related subject areas such as Corporate Real Estate, Real Property Management, Fixed Asset Management, Planning, Design & Construction, Facilities Valuation and Audits, Space Management, Property Management, Maintenance, Operations and Services Management. Integrated in all subjects is the focus on profitability, environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

Who studies Facilities Management?

Facilities Managers come from a wide range of backgrounds. A career in FM can start with a first degree in Architecture, Planning, Interior Design, Real Estate or Engineering, but many of our students come from entirely different fields, such as Management, Finance, the Humanities, Psychology and others. Our students often have a strong passion for the industry of their choice: Our graduates manage Facilities for Fashion Designers, Businesses, Hotels, Universities, Museums, Hospitals, Residences, Non-Profits, Transportation Systems or Government agencies.

Who employs Facilities Managers?

Every company and organization has a Facilities Management function. Depending on the industry type and the size of the organization, this function may be labeled differently, such as “Corporate Real Estate”, “Property Management”, “Asset Management” or “Office Management”. Some organizations outsource this function to Facilities Service Provider.  Consequently, our graduates have a wide range of opportunities to choose from. Facilities Management jobs tend to be stable, they are unlikely to be offshored, and they are relatively well paid.