CORPORATE CHAT
‘Construction boom means more jobs for facilities managers’

The Vatika Group is one of the leading groups in real estate and hospitality that is developing super premium condominiums-Sovereign Apartments in Gurgaon. Its General Manager, Facilities, Gurgaon, U.C. Srivastava, says this field has tremendous job prospects for "dedicated, hardworking and competent youth." Excerpts from an interview:

What are the job opportunities for facilities manager in north India?

A large number of building apartments are coming up in Delhi and surrounding towns, besides parts of Punjab and Haryana, where residents are ready to pay for security, maintenance and other services. Small and medium-sized companies are entering this sector to provide world-class services. They are offering career opportunities to facilities managers. In addition, they can set up their own firms.

What are the necessary educational qualifications to become a facilities manager?

Since a facilities manager has to deal with maintenance, security, administrative and financial matters, ideally he should have educational qualifications like BE Electrical or Mechanical besides MBA in Finance or Administration. It will help him to supervise his staff apart from looking into financial matters like fixation of the right price for the services.

What are the difficulties that a person faces this profession?

Facility management is a new and demanding profession, where customers expect to provide services 24 hours and seven days a week. A facility manager has to ensure "zero defect" availability of power supply, efficient security, housekeeping and garbage collection. So, you should be ready to put in flexible and long hours.

How much can these professionals expect to earn at the entry level?

In a city like Delhi, a facility manager can easily expect to earn anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 per month. A person who has the right entrepreneurial skills can hope to make a name in this profession, besides earning good amount of money. People are looking for world-class services in an Indian context.

How do you see the job market for facility managers growing in the, say, next five years?

Since new buildings, hotels, commercial centers are coming up in the National Capital Region and other towns, the earning levels are expected to rise manifold in the coming years. Thousands of jobs are expected to come up for facilities managers in new multiplexes, hotels and building societies across the country. It is going to become a specialised career.

— MK