IFMA Foundation Announces Sodexo Support for the Global Workforce Initiative Ignite FM! Student Competition
HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA – The IFMA Foundation today announced a major development in its Global Workforce Initiative, a multi-industry effort to fill a growing talent gap in the facility management field. Sodexo, a leading facilities and workplace services provider, announced its commitment to support funding of the Ignite FM! Student Competitions at IFMA’s World Workplace® 2023 Conference and Expo.
Ignite FM! is a competition in which students working in teams are given a complex facility management (FM) problem to solve in a short period of time. Team presentations are made to an audience of professional facility managers and judges. The winning team shares a monetary prize. “Sodexo is pleased to be a partner in the IFMA Foundation’s Global Workforce Initiative to support the growth of FM Accredited Degree Programs. This initiative connects students with employers to help meet their professional development goals while at the same time strengthening the workforce and the economy,” said Taj Sharma, president of Sodexo Technical Services. “The FM Accredited Degree Programs are an essential element of our facility management profession, and the IgniteFM! competition provides an important connection between students in FM degree programs and our constantly evolving industry.”
“By partnering in the Global Workforce Initiative, Sodexo is ensuring the continued sustainability of the FM profession,” said IFMA Foundation Executive Director Diane Levine. “Students who participate in Ignite FM! Competitions are given the opportunity to present their solutions before recruiters seeking much needed talent due to the high numbers of retirees in the field. As a leader in providing FM services, Sodexo is taking the lead to ignite the future of FM.”
The Global Workforce Initiative seeks to fill the growing facility management and facilities services workforce talent gap as more than half of today’s practitioners are expected to retire in the next five to 15 years. Working in partnership with impacted industries around the world, the IFMA Foundation is leading the charge to make facility management a career of choice. By working with educators at all levels and increasing the number of accredited FM degree programs around the world, the Global Workforce Initiative is helping to create a clear career pathway to an exciting and fulfilling career in FM. More information can be found at: https://foundation.ifma.org/students-academics/ignite-fm-student-challenge/
About the IFMA Foundation
Established in 1990 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and separate entity from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the IFMA Foundation works for the public good to promote priority research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management. The IFMA Foundation is a United Nations non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status. The IFMA Foundation is supported by the generosity of the FM community including IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors who share the belief that education and research improve the FM profession. To learn more about the IFMA Foundation, visit http://foundation.ifma.org.
About Sodexo
We are 422,000 people touching the lives of 100 million consumers on a daily basis. Working in our more than 100 professions, we share a passion for serving others. At Sodexo we believe in the big difference a day makes. That’s why we are proud to focus on people’s daily essential needs and desires: we see them as vital; we see them as key to improve the quality of life. We know that by focusing on the tangible, the real, the concrete improvements, day after day, for millions of people, we have a big impact not only on individuals but also on society and the planet.