Physical Asset Manager

by Staff Reporter
by Staff Reporter
If you’re responsible, organised and strategic then a career as a Physical Asset Manager could be for you.

Career Overview

A Physical Asset Manager will essentially take care of company assets, big and small. From servicing them, to ensure that they run the best they possibly can and also bring in the most amount of money for their worth. You will make recommendations for buying and selling assets as well as having an understanding of the legal requirements for big and small assets. As a manager, you hold a lot of responsibility within an organisation, and when assets malfunction, you will be the go-to personal. 

Required School Subjects

You will need to have taken the following subjects at high school:

  • Pure Mathematics
  • Physical Science 

Recommended subjects:

  • Business Studies
  • Accounting
  • Economics

Institution and APS

The following institutions are highly recommended for further studies:

  • University of Johannesburg (UJ) – APS of 25+
  • University of Cape Town (UCT) – Faculty Point Score (FPS) of 480
  • University of Witwatersrand (Wits) – APS of 42+
  • University of Pretoria (UP) – APS of 30

Required Qualification/s

Since a Physical Asset Manager is a specialisation in the business management sector, it will require many years of experience and knowledge within the industries that require asset managers. You will need a degree in business or commerce in order to get into a position that will give you the right experience needed to become a Physical Asset Manager.

Required Skills

You will need to have the following skills to succeed as a Physical Asset Manager:

  • an ability to work with people
  • strategic thinking
  • out-of-the-box thinking
  • leadership
  • creative
  • practicality
  • management
  • technical developmental and communication skills
  • problem solving
  • IT proficiency
  • adaptability
  • attention to detail and accuracy 
  • negotiation
  • time management 

Where you can work

As a Physical Asset Manager, you will be able to work in one of the following areas:

  • Factories
  • Engineering Organisations
  • Corporate organisations
  • Manufacturing plants

Working Hours

Regular working hours would be between 40 – 45 hours per week but as a Managerial role, you may be required to work overtime on any given day. It really depends on where you work.

Expected Salary

The average salary per year as a Physical Asset Manager in South Africa is around R462 784, according to PayScale.

What to expect

Here are a few things you can expect from a career as a Physical Asset Manager:

  • As a Physical Asset Manager, you can expect to be given a lot of responsibility in managing big and small assets, as well as people below you in a work environment. 
  • Expect to engage in a thorough knowledge of insurance, legal implications around large and small assets, as well as services and machine maintenance plans. 
  • You’ll need to work with finances and make sure machines are increasing in their worth to the company you work for.
  • Expect to be put under stressful situations when managing physical assets, when things go wrong the buck stops with you.
  • Expect to gain a lot of experience and to be learning all the time, especially as technology advances.

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