May 11, 2007—A higher education college in Oman will become one of the first in the Middle East to introduce a degree course in Facilities Management, as a booming construction industry across the Gulf fuels demand for qualified FM professionals.
The Fire Safety Engineering College in Muscat, which has run a two-year Diploma Program in Facilities Management since 2004, will begin offering a three-year Bachelor degree program starting in September.
The college has made the move in order to help students take advantage of the increasing career opportunities offered by a growing FM market, which experts have recently estimated will be worth US$ 892 billion across the Gulf over the next 25 years.
This new development is good news for the Middle East construction sector, which, according to leading recruitment consultancy Hill McGlynn, is facing a huge shortage of skilled FM practitioners. FM professionals oversee the management of a building from its inception, providing a range of services including property strategy, building maintenance and management of space, energy and communications infrastructure.
Subjects covered by students undertaking the FM Diploma course at the Fire Safety Engineering College include construction technology, the use of various construction materials, project management, engineering drawing, surveying, information technology, mathematics and health and safety.
The college is affiliated with the University of Central Lancashire in the UK and currently 20 per cent of successful Diploma students progress on to a degree program at the UK university. For more information, see the college Web site.
