Gender diversity is key to business success. Post pandemic, gender equity seems to be in danger of becoming less of a priority for many businesses as they establish “what matters most when everything matters”. In 2019, 18% of senior vice president roles and 19% of vice president roles were filled by women. 4 years later, this has dropped to 14% and 16% respectively. Senior women are leaving high positions at an accelerating rate.
National Careers Week focuses on bringing young people into the world of work. It aims to provide children, teens, and young adults in education visibility of a large range of roles across all sectors. The Facilities Management sector has invested time and resource into showcasing the sector for this age group and is working to increase the talent pool of young people to help encourage the next generation of professionals into FM.
Demand for skilled FM professionals is only increasing in the first quarter of 2023. Many companies have unfilled vacancies and finding the best talent to fill crucial roles is a constant challenge. There has also long been a skills crisis in the sector, which, as has been much discussed, has been compounded by experienced professionals leaving the sector over the last 7 years due to Brexit, the pandemic and retirement.
How Businesses can Reduce Barriers to Re-Entry to the Workforce for Over 50s or How to Reverse The Great Retirement
In the last 2 years, around 700,000 workers aged 50+ have left the jobs market. This is of particular significance to the FM sector as it has an aging workforce which has suffered from a loss of labour over the past 2 years due to Brexit, the pandemic, early retirement, and other factors. This means we have lost some of the expertise needed to productively bring the next generation of FM professionals into the sector. More experienced professionals are a boon to any sector as they can take on a mentoring role for young people who will do their work in the future.
2022 was a year of records for the recruitment industry, with vacancies hitting record highs in the summer and unemployment hitting record lows. The amount of people economically inactive rose too, as people left the workforce due to long term sickness and early retirement. The overall map of employment in the UK showed people moving much more between roles with employment figures maintaining high levels throughout the year, and we expect this to continue through 2023, despite some economic uncertainty.
We are delighted to announce our partnership with the new Yorkshire-based, FM dedicated job board – FM Recruiter. The new site was launched in November, and is the latest edition to the Business Daily Group which include media and recruitment arms covering the Facilities Management and Rail sectors.
Comment from 300 North given to Facilitate Magazine for their September / October 2022 edition. To see the magazine, visit Facilitate where links to the magazine are available.
The labour shortage in FM is under increased pressure. The skills gaps and effects of Brexit have been exacerbated as an ageing workforce re-evaluates its options and looks to early retirement.
Technical Skills Gaps in FM
Comment from 300 North given to TwinFM for their recent article: Hiring in FM – Looking Beyond University Degrees. To see thoughts from Adam Fahn (Freelance FM and Safety Consultant), Robert Blackler (VP of Sales, Infraspeak), and Angela Hughes (HR Director, Cluttons) visit the TWin FM site.
"68 per cent of the employers surveyed by CIPD said that the skills they have the most difficulty finding in jobseekers are overwhelmingly technical skills. Paul Connolly, CEO of FM recruitment company 300 North, believes the lack of recognition in FM is also worsening the skills gap.
