EDITORIAL COMMENT
MARCH 2020 3
FMJ.CO.UK
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Editorial steering committee
Alan Hutchinson, Facilities Director, Howard Kennedy LLP
Charles Siddons, Head of Operations, NHS Property Services
Darren Miller, Head of EMEA Facilities Operations, PayPal
Ian Wade, Head of UK Estates, British Medical Association
Jan Portch, Offi ce Manager Landsec HQ
Lucy Hind, Head of Property (Interim) at Barnsley Council
Russell Wood, Facilities Manager at Dentsu Aegis Network
Simon Francis, Principal Lead, Estates and Masterplanning, ZSL
Simone Fenton-Jarvis, Workplace Services Consultancy Development Director Ricoh UK
Stephen Bursi, Facilities Lead, BAE Systems
Stephen Vagg, Director of Global Real Estate & Facilities, Molson Coors
Tony King, Head of Facilities, Historic Royal Palaces
Vicky Thorp, Head of Facilities Management, CLSH Management
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The news that the government intends to
introduce a new points-based system which
could result in low-skilled workers not
being given easy access to the UK under
post-Brexit immigration plans could have
huge implications for the FM sector.
The reasoning behind the decision (which we
outline out in the recruitment feature in this issue)
is to encourage employers to “move away” from
relying on “cheap labour” from Europe and invest
more in retaining sta and developing automation
technology.
This presents something of a problem for facilities
management, which traditionally has relied on low
paid sta to take on the cleaning, security and other
operative roles. The sector has already been coping
with a widespread skills challenge. A survey by the
IWFM last year found that 75 per cent of FM businesses
had experienced problems in recruiting people with
the right skills, so how it will deal with the double
whammy of recruiting for roles previously held by lowskilled
EU workers is a major issue.
Despite the legal and political wrangling’s over the
Government’s decision, what remains clear is that
the situation presents a call to action for the sector
to invest more in training and remuneration so that
people gain more responsibility and rewards. As Kath
Fontana, the first FM to be named RICS President-Elect
said at the recent Workplace Futures conference: the
changes could present a huge opportunity. She argues
that it is long overdue that the sector realises that
people who are low paid are not necessarily low skilled
and they should be better rewarded for their skills
and talents.
As always, we’d welcome your feedback about any
aspect of the magazine, together with your insight into
what’s happening in the FM sector.
Total Average
Net Circulation
10,666 July 2018 to June 2019
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