Arindam Pal, a hospitality graduate found his calling in facilities management.
27 April 2017
Student Stories 2017
Arindam Pal
Hotel Management graudate
PGDFM 2016-17
Placed in CBRE in Facilities Management
Arindam Pal, a hotel management graduate, who did his internship from Walt Disney, USA, following it up with a Masters in International Business from Ireland started working with JLL and found his true calling in Facilities Management. Read on to know why he thought of pursuing a post graduate diploma in Facilities Management.
“I graduated with merit in Hotel Management from Bangalore in 2013. After briefly working with Infosys (Mysore) as a Facility Associate, I went to Ireland to pursue a post-graduation degree in International Business. There again I excelled in my studies and was awarded an ‘Education in Ireland Student Ambassador’ from the Govt. of Ireland. After coming back, I joined JLL, Bangalore as a Facility Executive for two years but found that my skills acquired in graduation and post-graduation were not enough to understand the complexities of FM. So to attain industry relevant knowledge of FM, I started to search for relevant courses.
My quest for education led me to Post Graduate Diploma in FM. While researching the course, I found out that Hotel Management is very specific to Front-office, Housekeeping and F&B operations; it is only a part of the whole picture. FM is entire real estate from knowing how to manage planning to execution, to monitoring and controlling not only operations but entire asset management. I was quick enough to grasp that Hotel Management is only a part of Facilities Management and to grow and have a successful career, I need to undergo a course that gives me a deeper understanding of the real estate spectrum. This diploma will give me what I aspire for in the future, to establish my own business.
There are three attributes to be a good Facilities Manager; you need to have good communication skills, good computer skills and a good financial quotient. I have studied how to be a good contract handler, how to manage vendors and understood energy conservation. This particular course made me understand the importance of sustainability factor; how to make your buildings more green and efficient. Asset management was another one of the main learning outcomes. Another realization was that a FM professional is required to be a jack of all trades. One should know all the aspects, not in detail, but an overview is required in order to grow and perform. As a Facility Manager, one should be able to connect all the dots, should be able to understand who is responsible for a particular job and if it happening in the best possible manner. The subjects I studied were Contract Management, Project Management, building life-cycle and Building Services. Not only the level of my technical skills and knowledge rose, I recognized and understood the need to have the right emotional intelligence and HR skills to lead a team. All this which helped me grow as a person and I see myself ready to join the industry as a potential manager.”
Now is right time to join FM industry as it is growing everyday especially after Real Estate (Regulation Act). Bigger opportunities are set to follow as more FDI flows directly into India and market becomes transparent. GST will lead to more demand for space and manpower especially in FM. As people are becoming more conscious of energy management, more technical professionals from the industry will be required. Students joining this industry face a very positive and bright future as this is an evergreen career. Five years from now, I see myself as a successful manager of a very good establishment but right now I am passionate about green projects and my dream is to work for ISRO and build a world class space station for future generations.”