Facilities management: A career for architect graduates and implications for curriculum development

Abstract

The challenge being faced by young architects in the present economic depression is so enormous that finding jobs seems a herculean task. This paper takes a look at facilities management as a career opportunity for architecture graduates. It underscores its importance as a key area where services can be offered to clients. This paper discovers that there is a wide gap which needs to be filled for facilities management to gain relevance in Nigeria. Proper inventories and relevant data on facilities management and creating awareness are suggested as methodological approaches toward jobs creation for the architect-graduates. It asserts that as a result of the changing world, architect graduates need to focus on other areas of human endeavour in order to develop a career in them. The paper concludes that due to changing needs and demands of the society, the contents of the education of architects need to be reviewed and up-dated. This, it opines, should accommodate facilities management into the curriculum of schools of architecture in Nigeria.