HONG KONG -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announced today a landmark collaboration which promises to transform the US$1 trillion global facility management (FM) industry. By joining strategic resources, they will create an unprecedented level of industry support to meet growing demands from the 25 million FM practitioners around the world, as well as launch a single and compelling career pathway into the FM profession.

Over recent years, the FM industry has advanced in stature and evolved into an increasingly strategic discipline. IFMA and RICS research has empirically demonstrated the tangible advantages of effective facility management, ranging from improved productivity and cost savings to energy efficiency and employee well-being. As established leaders offering extensive resources to practitioners across the built environment, IFMA and RICS have come together in collaboration to further develop and professionalize the field of facility management.

Even as the industry has attained increased status and prominence, the global professional community which has pioneered much of this advance has suffered through fragmented support, according to an RICS survey of professionals across six continents. The IFMA-RICS collaboration will seek to address this by providing strong, global leadership and the tools needed to harness the power of strategic FM services.

“As global thought leaders dedicated to the professionals who support the built environment, IFMA and RICS identified a unique opportunity to team up and fortify existing resources to enhance the outstanding level of service they already provide to professionals and built environment industry,” said IFMA President and CEO Tony Keane. “The framework of this collaboration will create a less fragmented, more inclusive and highly regarded global facility management community.”

The collaboration will also seek to address the current shortage of FM professionals in the workforce, according to RICS CEO Sean Tompkins.

"Whilst there is a growing market demand for facility management skills around the world, currently there is a shortage of professionally qualified practitioners equipped to deliver this service. Our collaboration will establish a clearly defined, single career pathway which will see FM practitioners acquire the leading skills they need to become recognized as preeminent professionals."

The goals of the IFMA-RICS collaboration include:

• Advancing global knowledge sharing and cohesion within the FM community
• Expanding the existing informational and networking infrastructure for members of both organizations
• Unifying the FM career path through both IFMA credentials and RICS qualifications
• Incorporating FM trends and best practices into a more comprehensive picture of the built environment
• Encouraging graduates and young professionals to select careers in FM
• Asserting the strategic value of FM to business in order to further elevate the profession

The IFMA-RICS collaboration will be shaped over time, but initially will leverage both organizations’ existing resources in education, research, conferences and events, and external relations. IFMA and RICS will also work together to align credentials and qualifications to shape a single FM career path with demonstrable professional status which is recognized and respected globally.

RICS professionals who have qualified in FM will automatically receive IFMA member benefits. In turn, IFMA members and credential holders will be able to attain RICS professional qualification and benefit from RICS’ international standards and global professional network.

About IFMA

IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for facility management professionals, supporting 24,000 members in 105 countries. The association’s members, represented in 134 chapters and 17 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than US$100 billion in products and services. Formed in 1980, IFMA certifies professionals in facility management, conducts research, provides educational programs and produces World Workplace, the world’s largest facility management conference and exposition. To join and follow IFMA's social media outlets online, visit the association’s LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages. For more information, visit the IFMA press room or www.ifma.org.

About RICS

Confidence through Professional Standards

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve.

We accredit 118,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.

We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world’s wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.

With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.

We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.

About RICS Asia

RICS Asia supports a network of over 20,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the land, property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice education and training. We promote RICS and our members as the natural advisors on all property matters. We also ensure that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.

RICS Asia region serves local member associations located in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan and South Korea. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.rics.org.

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CONTACT:

RICS Asia Public Relations Representatives
Ms Penn Leung, 3159-2986
penn.leung@creativegp.com
or
Ms Esther Kam, 3159-2978
esther.kam@creativegp.com