IS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL
Careers. Our favourite subject. Especially those within the Facilities Management (FM) sector. However, there is a problem. Is FM given enough credit for its breadth of stimulating and diverse career options. No one goes through school proclaiming, ‘I want to work in FM when I’m older’. That’s because FM isn’t traditionally seen as an inspiring career path, despite its strong credentials.
Following on from an earlier post, listing 10 great reasons to work in FM, we continue our mission to:
• Fly the flag for FM.
• Campaign for better awareness of FM careers.
• Inspire a new generation of FM professionals.
Combining generational forces
Please don’t misinterpret this post as us saying there is no place in FM for established FM professionals. Of course, there is. They are the backbone of the industry and without them, FM wouldn’t be where it is today. However, the sector must evolve with the times to meet the demands of a new generation of FM users.
As FM recruitment specialists, we’re seeing our clients think about the future, how communities will operate and thus the need to identify skills that support a more digital environment. As a result, we're seeing an uplift in the requirement for more digital lead roles as well as general activity in Project Manager (Lifecycle and Variations) and Technical Management type roles, in addition to Engineers.
It’s not just a case of tackling increasingly complex technological advances within the sector. As highlighted by this article in Facilitate Magazine, due to the development of facilities to include workplace management, such as wellbeing, employers want professionals with a broader set of skills outside of the traditional soft/hard/H&S service delivery.
If the industry is to continue to meet ever-increasing and complex FM demands, and become more proactive and dynamic in its offering, we must face facts. There is a skills gap facing our profession and therefore an injection of a different set of skills, knowledge and technical know-how needs to be delivered by a new generation of FM professionals.
Inspiring young people
Unfortunately, as FM isn’t seen as a ‘sexy’ career option, there is a need for further education and promotion to make the industry appear more attractive and give a greater understanding to younger people who are at the point of identifying their future career choices.
At 300 North, we communicate positively about the FM sector in all our engagements and across our content platforms, while working closely with our clients to match their needs for younger and tech-savvy candidates where required. The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) have taken things one step further with their Career of Choice programme - an incentive we advocate.
IWFM, in collaboration with Class of Your Own, have joined forces to engage the next generation of FM professionals with tailored advice and guidance to encourage and inspire young people to explore the many pathways into our profession. As well as providing resources for students, much of the content is aimed at parents, teachers and volunteers who have the power to start conversations around careers in FM.
Final thoughts
Regardless of how advanced and complex FM becomes, those starting their FM career journey and those already working in the industry must work together to improve the efficiency, productivity and wellbeing of the building and those using it. This, we hope you will agree, should always be the end goal.
300 NORTH SPECIALISE IN RECRUITING EXPERTS WITHIN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION. GET IN TOUCH TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR RECRUITMENT NEEDS BY VISITING THE 300 NORTH WEBSITE OR CALLING 0113 336 5161.
