Over 19 professionals in the real estate industry, consultants, project managers, financial controllers and engineers, activating in facility management within local and multinational companies such as Unicredit Tiriac Bank, Office Depot, Unirea Shopping Centers, Uil Casa, Arta Grafica and Genesis Development, attended the first educational program on facility management organized in Romania.
The “Introduction to Facility Management” course was organized by RABO Academy in collaboration the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), the most prestigious organization in the field at the European level.
The course consisted in several modules that offered information on the main activities related to facilities management, such as space planning, move & relocation, maintenance, energy efficiency, operating standards and tenant communication. Other modules concentrated on matters related to key performance indicators, planning and service level agreements (SLA).
The Bucharest courses were held by BIFM trainers Beth Goodyear and Gillian French, experienced international facility managers and teachers. Beth is a Facilities Management professional with over 15 years’ experience in Operational and Strategic FM and extensive experience of both in‐house and outsourced FM roles. Prior to forming her own consultancy company in 2006, Beth was Head of the FM Department at Ascot Racecourse where she was responsible for a £4.5m operating budget for the prestigious 185 acre site, which also underwent a £200m refurbishment during her time with the organization. Gillian has many years’ senior level experience both as customer and as a supplier in the facilities management sector. Having had a background in procurement, she moved into management of property and FM contracts in British Airways with responsibility for an FM budget of £70 million per year.
Over 80% of the people that handle facility management responsibilities in Romania have other different positions within companies. One of the common topics for the real estate industry aims at achieving the certification and recognition for the facility manager position.
“The facility management market is still growing in Romania, while the people handling such responsibilities come from different professional backgrounds, therefore it is very important to them to get a common set of basic concepts, applicable in all types of companies and across European Union countries. One of the strong points for the training was the participation of foreign trainers as well as the options that it offers you to further grow and specialize in areas such as health & safety, contract management or budget & planning. For our industry it is also very important that people with similar positions meet and share know-how”, said Alexandra Malaies, Facility Manger within Office Depot company.