Yemisi Izuora
As part of the strategy for capacity development and the need to inspire the next generation of Facility Managers, the International Facility Management Association, Nigeria Chapter will be celebrating the 2018 World Facility Management Day with the students of the Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.
The theme for the celebration is, “Enabling Positive Experiences: Inspiring the Technical Students for a better tomorrow.” This was revealed during an interview with President of the Association, Engr. Pius Iwundu, FMP.
The President stated that, the World FM Day has become a veritable platform that promotes the importance of facility managers in the overall growth and preservation of infrastructure and assets in built environment.
According to him, “This year’s celebration is geared towards developing the next generation of facility managers who will move the profession to higher heights in Nigeria. There is a need to raise committed professionals who will advance the course of the profession. As such, we discovered that technical students need to be spurred to take the right steps in the right direction, in order to make this happen.
“Seasoned professionals have been invited to inspire them for a better tomorrow and also advise them on the need to be dedicated, committed and be passionate about a future of excellence. Some of these include Mr. Emmanuel Adesoye, Chairman, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA); Mr. Ayo Aderinwale, Deputy Chief Coordinator, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL); Mr. Stephen Ola Jagun, First fellow of IFMA in Africa; Mr. Sheriff Daramola, Executive Director and Co-founder, Specific Tools and Techniques Limited and many more,” he added.
The International Facility Management Association Nigeria Chapter, a not-for-profit association was established in 1995 by a group of well-meaning professionals, drawn corporate and social Nigeria. The body has offered various opportunity to develop the capacity of various facility management professionals by exposing them to local and international programmes. The Nigeria Chapter is an affiliate of IFMA Worldwide, based in Houston, United States of America. IFMA is the world’s largest and widely recognized association for professional facility managers, supporting more than 22,655 members in 78 countries.
Since 2008, The World Facility Management Day has been institutionalized with the aim of raising the profile of Facility Management as a profession and once a year the global facilities management community comes together to celebrate FM on World FM Day which however provides an opportunity for global knowledge sharing, to discuss and share experiences both good and challenging, to promote our profession and celebrate our successes. It is a day where facilities management professionals use to reflect on their achievements over the past year.