Today's Facility Manager | Tricks Of The Trade: Facility Management In Nigeria

By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the July 2011 issue of Today's Facility Manager

Q What are the processes and procedures involved in acquiring a professional certification in facility management especially for one trained outside the U.S. or U.K.? What is the cost implication?

Name withheld on request
Property Manager
Nigeria

A Acquiring a facility management (FM) certificate or designation in Nigeria may be rather difficult, since you will have limited options available to you. However, the Nigerian Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has details on its web site regarding the Facility Management Professional (FMP) and Certified Facility Manager (CFM) programs offered.

According to the site, the FMP program is recommended for professionals who fit any of the following descriptions:

FM practitioners with less than five years of experience;
Transitioning professionals with significant experience in former related careers;
Partner practitioners such as architects, designers, and safety engineers;
Associated corporate providers of FM products and services; and
Students entering the profession from colleges, universities, certificate, or technical programs.

On the other hand, the CFM is a competency-based program that tests what a person can do compared to standards that define the practice of FM. One cannot take a course or a simple knowledge-based exam to earn the credential.

IFMA’s competency-based program is at a higher level than a knowledge-based program, reflecting the growing importance of FM in the international business world. In addition, the CFM is the only global FM certification available. Goals of IFMA’s certification program are to:

Assure professional excellence;
Establish standards for global FM practice;
Promote the added value of FM; and
Influence the future direction of FM.

Details are available from the chapter regarding training classes along with pricing and other support efforts.

Elledge, facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit Alliance Companies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and is a member of TFM’s Editorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask The Expert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.