5 Continuing Education Resources for Property and Facility Managers
If you want to succeed in any career long-term, it’s important to seek continuous improvement.
It shows your employer you’re dedicated to becoming the best you can be, which can increase your likelihood of receiving a raise. It also looks great to potential future employers who may want to hire you.
Beyond that, it can give you negotiating power in a salary discussion or simply bring about the satisfaction of knowing you’re performing your job to the best of your abilities.
Sometimes, though, the problem isn’t the desire to improve, but rather, it’s knowing which path of improvement to take.
To help you plan your professional development for the year, we’ve compiled this list of continuing education resources for property and facilities managers.
2019 Continuing Education Options for PMs and FMs
1. The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) programs
The IFMA maintains a host of continuing education opportunities for FM professionals, including:
- The Facility Management Professional (FMP) designation, which is a “knowledge-based credential for FM professionals looking to increase their depth-of-knowledge in the core FM topics deemed critical by employers.”
- The Certified Facility Manager (CFM) designation, an “internationally recognized credential that sets the standard for ensuring the knowledge and competence of practicing facility managers.”
One benefit of obtaining IFMA credentials is that they boast, on average, “a $6,000 salary increase within the first year” for people who earn them.
IFMA also offers other continuing education training that includes video courses, distance learning opportunities, and e-learning courses. Topics range from “Leadership and Strategy” to “Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability.”
2. Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International programs
Another great place to look for continuing education for project and facilities managers is BOMA International.
BOMA has a variety of on-demand webinars on topics from asset management to floor measurement.
Beyond that, BOMA holds conferences throughout the year. Some of these conferences, like the BOMA International Annual Conference & Expo, as well as the Medical Office Buildings + Healthcare Real Estate Conference feature sessions and programs that qualify for continuing professional development credits.
Your local BOMA Association may also provide training to help further your career.
Part of BOMA, Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI) International is dedicated to providing continuing education for property and facility managers. They offer courses to help you achieve a number of designations or certificates including:
- Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) designation;
- Property Administrator Certificate (PAC); and
- Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation.
Even if you don’t want to work toward a designation, you can still take advantage of the courses BOMI has to offer. Check out this page to find the right course for your professional development needs.
3. Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) programs
If you’re in the business of managing commercial real estate, you are likely familiar with the Institute of Real Estate Management, or IREM.
Much like IFMA, they offer a number of credentialing programs. Of note for property managers is their Certified Property Managers or CPM designation or Accredited Commercial Manager or ACom certification.
Even if you’re not interested in getting these advanced credentials, IREM offers a number of live classroom, webinar and on-demand learning opportunities.
And if you’re looking for a conference to attend, you can check out their array of local, regional or global events here.
4. Facility Executive Live
If you want to look outside of the options available through industry organizations, publications such as Facility Executive also offer great continuing education opportunities.
Facility Executive Live is a one-day conference held in September in Arlington, Va. In addition to meeting industry leaders face-to-face, you also can earn credit toward your CFM designation.
Don’t want to travel?
Facility Executive offers webinars, videos, white papers and plenty of articles that you can enjoy from the comfort of your office.
Which continuing education program is right for you?
Certainly, this list only scratches the surface of the options available to you. But hopefully, this gives you a good place to start. Now, the only question is – which courses or conferences will you choose?