Women make up around 21% of the FM workforce according to an IFMA survey. An IWFM survey gives a more charitable estimate for the UK sector, with a 34/66 percentage split of women to men. Regardless of the exact numbers, it is agreed that the sector is male dominated. In areas like electrical engineering and security there is even greater disparity – women make up just 1% of electricians and 11% of frontline security personnel.

At the start of June, 300 North attended the annual IWFM Conference. This year’s focus was on the theme “Agents of Change”. We were delighted to attend to meet many of our colleagues in person again, and to see the keynotes and guest speakers who promoted the good in the profession and the way organisations in the sector can move to push FM forwards to meet our various goals and targets on sustainability, the future of work, and innovation, amongst other things.

For National Careers Week, we interviewed Mark Whittaker to spotlight FM careers and discuss how people are moving into and within the sector. The FM workforce comes from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, with many falling into the sector or not having clarity over the breadth of the opportunities available in it. In this interview we asked Mark about the jobs he’s had, his entry into the FM sector, his work with IWFM over the last 14 years, and how he thinks the sector has changed.