College course and career opportunities

Annette

Building a career in facilities management

While working as an office manager, Annette Fitzmaurice says she found herself taking on more and more building management tasks. “The landlords where I previously worked owned five buildings, and the facilities manager couldn’t be in all five places at once, so in certain circumstances, I did find myself doing more tasks relating to the physical aspects of the office than perhaps I had originally been employed to do — I enjoyed it and I was happy to do it of course.”

The company Annette worked for then, has a culture of learning and development and Annette was encouraged to sign up for courses and better herself in any way she chose. “The firm was planning office renovations, so I tried a Project Management course. It was an online, self-paced course, and I found it difficult to dedicate myself to this style of learning. I felt I needed more of a structure, and other people learning alongside me with whom I could interact, so there’s some accountability between us. I found out about the facilities management course at Bermuda College and felt that it would be a good fit for me.”

The facilities management course is developed by BOMI (Building Owners and Managers Institute) and offered through Bermuda College’s PACE division. (Professional and Career Education). It leads to a Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) designation, a designation that opens doors to a career managing any type of property — commercial buildings, condominium developments, sports grounds — as well as project management and construction management.

Annette explains that there are eight ‘modules’ to the course, each of which is taught in one semester. “There is what I call a rolling admission. That may not be the official description, but it’s how I would describe it, because you can start the course at any time, and work your way through each of the eight modules, one semester at a time. I started in 2019, and we had a good number of live classes before Covid hit, and then we went to Zoom, and then back to live classes.”

Annette’s employers paid for her tuition; however, funding is available to those that qualify through the Government’s National Training Board.

“Everyone on the course had a full-time job” remarked Annette. “I not only had a full and a part-time job, I was on my daughter’s PTA, and heavily involved in other community activities. When I look back, I don’t know how I did it, but it does go to show that it’s possible to study

at Bermuda College even if your life is already very full.”

“The lecturer, Mr. Henry Ming, was just fantastic, a wonderful teacher,” Annette continues.

“He’s been in this role for many years and is very experienced. He seems to enjoy it, and that rubs off on the students. He wants everyone to succeed and do well in their careers in facilities management. One little story I’ll share. I was struggling to understand something technical about air conditioning. Mr. Ming arranged for us to go into the Bermuda College air conditioning room, and a fellow student also arranged a field trip to where he works to look at the air conditioning system in that building. The ‘hands on’, real world experience really helped me.”

Annette’s current role is VP Facilities at Sompo International. “We’re based in Waterloo House, on Pitts Bay Road. This is a fairly new building, about six years old. I love being here and I love my job.”

One of the unexpected benefits of completing the BOMI course at Bermuda College was, for Annette, the networking and contacts made among the students. “If any of us have any questions, we can reach out to each other for advice and help. Someone might call me and ask if I know of a good plumber, and if there’s an issue I’m having a problem dealing with, there’s always someone within the facilities management community for me to call for their suggestions.”

Facilities management may seem like a male dominated field, but Annette says “I don’t know if my experience is different to anyone else, but I have never felt any resentment or had any unpleasant experiences just because I’m a woman working in this field. Everyone I’ve worked with — contractors, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths — has been happy to help me, happy to explain things to me if there’s something very technical or new that I haven’t come across before. I don’t feel that being a woman, colleagues look down on me or question: what is she doing here in that position?”.

“Sometimes in meetings, the room might be full of men, and I am the only female, but I have never felt that I don’t belong in that room. There were a couple of other women on the BOMI course with me, so I’m not the only one looking more widely at career fields that may have traditionally been dominated by men. I would definitely recommend this type of work, and the Bermuda College course to others — men and women. I didn’t think that I would end up working in facilities management, but I am enjoying it a lot. No two days are ever alike.”

Instructor Henry Ming

BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS INSTITUTE (BOMI)

Facilities Management Administrator

Do you manage facilities, work with architects, engineers or construction companies? The Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) designation benefits both new and experienced facilities professionals through the development of valuable skills in strategic planning, project management, corporate finance, capital investment, and physical asset management. Topics include planning and project management, facilities technologies, finance and investment, and environmental health and worker safety.

BOMI Curriculum

The Design, Operations and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part I The Design, Operations and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part II Fundamentals of Facilities Management Technologies for Facilities Management Facilities Planning and Project Management Real Estate Investment and Finance Environmental Health and Safety Ethics is Good Business

MANY PATHS. DISCOVER YOURS.

For more information contact:

DIVISION OF PROFESSIONAL & CAREER EDUCATION (PACE) Recruitment Officer T: 239-4099 • E: tdill@college.bm