In an unprecedented attempt to provide the Facility Management segment the much-needed formal training and qualification, Sam Cherian, MD-Schevaran Laboratories in a JV with CleanfixSwitzerland and Filmop-Italy joined hands with Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, to set up the Academy for Workplace Excellence (AWE) at Bangalore. The Academy was formally inaugurated on January 30.
AWE has been created with a vision to transform the educational sphere in facilities maintenance and to provide singular focus on Facility Management knowledge and skills. It aims to deliver relevant and contemporary academic programs to students who are seeking a career in Facility Management. AWE offers courses for PG Diploma in Facility Management, Nextgen Facility Management, Sustainability and Wellness in FM, Standards & Legal Compliance in FM and Safety and Security in Facility Management.
Addressing the gathering of CEOs & CXOs of the Facility Management segment, Sam Cherian said that Bangalore alone employs 150 million in facility management! The dearth, the need and the gap in the FM segment for a proper education system to churn out professionals to do the job had triggered the initiative to set up an Academy. The first-ofits-kind, the Academy took shape in just eight months. Sam Cherian met Cleanfix and Filmop with the proposal to start an Academy which was instantly taken and following a meeting with the Ramaiah University, one of the oldest universities of India, the Academy became a reality.
Officially inaugurating the Academy at a formal gathering of facility management professionals at the Taj MG Road, Bangalore, Sam Cherian along with Felix Rüesch, CEO of Cleanfix and Dr Paolo Sacpinello, Export Manager of Filmop launched the website to begin admissions to the first batch of the post graduate diploma courses.
The chief guest on the occasion, Dr Madhavan Nair, ex-chairman
Inauguration ceremony of ISRO, along with Sam Cherian, Sandeep Sethi, Managing DirectorJLL; Fabrizio Giustarini, Italian Trade Commissioner; Judith Thony Loosli; Dr Sivaguru Sritharan, Vice Chancellor-RUAS; and others lit the traditional lamp to mark the beginning of the creation of a knowledge platform dedicated to Facility Management.
Sharing his experience of Facility Management in the keynote speech, Sandeep Sethi said, “The workplace does not look like a workplace today. The drivers that dictate the Real Estate function are so much different from the design, location or services perspectives. There is a big change. A good workplace has the ability to attract good talent. Hence, the ask is for the facility management folks to raise their profile and start talking the new language that is expected of them and make a business outcome.” It is this requirement that the Academy will fulfil. “This initiative is addressing a true business challenge and making a social impact by raising the profile of this industry.” Elaborating on the importance of food in workplaces, Dev Amritesh, Managing Director of Compass, said that today the millennials are looking at being facilitated with healthy food. “With the changing trends, food services which is now under the HR will become an FM activity.”
The stalwarts and who’s who of the facility management segment extended support to the initiative and applauded the commencement of the Academy. Sunil Ralph, Group HeadFMS, GMR Group; Shakti Singh Chauhan, Senior Vice President-2 & Head: Administration & Facilities, HDFC Bank Ltd; Pradeep Lala, Managing Director & CEO-Embassy Services Pvt. Ltd; Bhaskar Kaushik, Director-CBRE Asia Pacific; Dev Amritesh, Managing DirectorIndia, Compass Group; Subrata KC Sharma, COO-Commercial, Brigade Group; Nitin Dave, Managing Director-Tenon Facility Management; and Sam Freeman, Managing Director-Atalian Global Service among others.
With the industry growing annually 20-25%, contributing 3.2% to the GDP, in such a scenario wherein sectors like businesses, hospitality, hospitals, corporates rely on facility maintenance, AWE will help hone the skills of facility management professionals, closing a gap between an ever-growing demand in facilities maintenance.
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That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.