Bachelor in Facility Management

Introduction

The hospitality business is the fastest growing industry in the 21st century. There is an increasing interest in enabling people to work and live comfortably and, of course, to relax. Customer orientation, service and hospitality experiences are the key concepts to achieve this. The industry is looking for ways to apply these concepts to deal with challenges such as a need for more efficiency, skills shortages, more demanding customers and sustainable entrepreneurship.

The Hospitality Business School of Saxion offers 3 bachelor programmes that perfectly meet the demand for people who are educated in the international hospitality business and who are eager to deal with these challenges:

• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Hotel Management
• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Tourism & Leisure
• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Facility Management.

The three programmes share their focus on creating the conditions that make it possible for people to work, travel, spend their leisure time, and stay away from home. This should be done in such a way that it offers a healthy profit to the company and brings maximum satisfaction and delight to the guests and customers.

Facility Management

Facility Management is the ideal programme if you feel attracted to arranging, organising and offering services. Facility Managers operate in a broad range of different organisations. Behind the scenes they ensure that people feel comfortable and perform optimally in their work. You will find a Facility Manager in every company. In office blocks, schools, hospitals and hotels they manage the premises, cleaning and maintenance, reception, sign-posting, workplace design, catering, security and many other activities.

In the programme, a lot of attention is paid to professional skills, theory and management skills. Moreover, developing the proper professional and hospitable attitude is an important focus point.

Course content

The Bachelor programme has a duration of 4 years (equivalent to 240 European credits). The focal point of the first year is to offer a full scope of the international hospitality business. You will become familiar with the basics of facility-, hotel-, tourism- and leisuremanagement. Excursions and company visits will give you a realistic picture of the industry.

At the end of the 1st year you have the opportunity to determine which programme will be your main focus. Your developing understanding of the industry will lead you towards one of three different specialisations; a Bachelor in Hotel Management, a Bachelor in Tourism & Leisure or a Bachelor in Facility Management. All degrees are recognised by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). The NVAO independently ensures the quality of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders by assessing and accrediting programmes.

The first year modules are:

• Hospitality Business Introduction
• Industry Research
• Industry Experience
• Management Principles
• Events
• Basics of Facility Management (core for FM students, option for others)
• Basics of Tourism & Leisure Management (core for TLM students, option for others)
• Basics of Hotel Management (core for HM students, option for others)
• Hospitality Economics
• Hospitality Marketing
• Business English
• Spanish Rápido (option)
• Dutch (option)

In addition to these subjects students will participate in excursions and professional development activities.

The second, third and fourth year are dedicated to the specialisation of your choice. You will learn generic skills through exposure to contemporary management theories applied to the context of hospitality specific operations. Attention is given to tactical and strategic management in areas like event management, financial management, human resource management, building management and entrepreneurship. Alongside you will develop research skills, do a five months traineeship in the industry and you will be able to deepen your knowledge in a specific field by participating in a minor programme for one semester. The programme is concluded by carrying out a research project for your final thesis.

Extensive interaction with the industry plays an important role throughout the programme. Apart from traineeships and the graduation assignment, this is realised by drawing industry representatives into constructing cases, delivering guest lectures and hosting excursions.

Specific requirements

Entry is open to Dutch as well as international students. Before you can be admitted to this bachelor degree course you need to have a secondary school certificate (Dutch: havo or mbo-diploma (middenkader or specialistenopleiding, niveau 4) or vwo-diploma). There is of course a possibility that you do not have a Dutch certificate that is required for entrance, but you do have a foreign degree. In this case Saxion will determine the value of your degree and compare it to the Dutch certificate to determine its level.

Your qualification should at least be the equivalent of the Dutch certificate, see the table above, to be admitted to the programme. All students who wish to register for the programme should have taken subjects such as economics, languages and/or management at their secondary schools. Finally you need to have a good command of English. If you do not have the Dutch nationality, we require either an IELTS test-score of 6.0 or a TOEFL test-score of 550. Unfortunately, without either of these test results, your application cannot be considered.

Career prospects

Facility management has a long reputation in the Netherlands. Dutch education and research in facility management is internationally renowned for its high standards. Therefore, alumni can be found in hospitality businesses all over the world. In order to meet the increasing demand for professionals in this rapid growing industry the BBA programme in facility management forms an excellent basis to start your career. The opportunities represent a broad range of related industries with many interdependencies in fields such as:

• Offices
• Hospitals
• Schools
• Contract catering
• Hospitality Service suppliers
• Hotels
• Holiday Bungalow Parks
• Resorts
• Recreation & Theme Parks
• Food and Beverage Industry
• Banks / Financial Businesses
• Consultancy firms
• Employment Agencies
• Other (restaurants, golf resorts, airlines, cruiseship companies)