FM CAREERS - TRAINING
MARCH 2020 57
FutureFit is an initiative
delivered by charity, East
London Business Alliance
(ELBA) which aims to help all workers
have the motivation, means and
opportunity to adapt to and thrive in
the digital economy.
It responds to the increased use of
technology in the workplace and the
changing skills needed by employees
(particularly front line) working in the
FM sector. Through a programme of
professional development workshops,
sta are given the chance to increase
their awareness of the technological
advancements in the sector and develop
the skills needed to transition to an FM
career of the future.
The East London Business Alliance
(ELBA) has been supporting the social
and economic regeneration of east
London for more than 30 years. A
unique alliance of over 100 partners and
supporters, ELBA’s mission is to create
possibilities to bring about positive
change in east London.
Its work with FM member
organisations and their clients is to
ensure local job seekers are able
to access and secure well paid and
meaningful employment and that once
in work, employees are provided with
a range of key skills training to enhance
their future employment prospects and
opportunities to develop sustainable
careers.
The Need
Rapid improvements in technology are
driving a fast rate of change in the FM
sector and as the use of automation
technology continues to become more
prevalent and play an increasingly vital
role in the way facilities are managed,
it undoubtedly brings with it a ra of
business benefits. Yet, the impact on
jobs and careers and more significantly,
the societal impact, can o en be
overlooked.
As with each Industrial revolution, the
4th brings with it the need for a growth
mind set, adaptability, flexibility and the
use of new skills to make the transition –
to be able to work with new technology
or risk being displaced by it.
As a leading local regeneration
charity, ELBA has been monitoring
and measuring the impact this has
on inequality, the make-up of local
employer workforces and the job
roles required over the next five to 10
years. Roles are already changing and
disappearing at a considerable pace.
Nonetheless, despite there being a
clear need for employees to receive
training and guidance about the
pace of change and the associated
opportunities, unfortunately very little
exist. Potentially vulnerable workers
were not being supported at the speed
and scale needed to help them adapt to
tomorrow’s careers path and it is to this
backdrop that the FutureFit pilot was
developed.
The Training
The FutureFit pilot is designed to test
a new approach to raising awareness
of ‘New Skills’ support and evaluate its
e ectiveness by working with ELBA’s
employer network across the FM sector.
As cited in the IWFM report: Embracing
Technology to Move FM Forward (2016),
those working in cleaning, catering,
security, grounds maintenance,
switchboard and mail services are
among the most likely to be put at risk
due to automation in the workplace.
As a result, ELBA is working with its
most active employers and their front
line sta to test ‘what works’ in terms
of new skilling. The pilot is creating a
new evidence base of good practice and
scale-able activity for ELBA and a wider
network of partners to take forward,
which will clearly articulate the social
and business case for employers o ering
e ective support to their employees
– evidencing a clearer link between its
benefits as workforce development and
employee productivity and retention.
Early adopters of the programme
include facilities services company
ISS who have aligned delivery with
a number of their financial services
contracts in Canary Wharf.
The key commitment from those
involved is to provide their sta with
the opportunity to participate in the
FutureFit training which consists of 8 x 1
hr sessions during their contracted hours
of work, delivered as weekly sessions
or more intensively. Workshops are
designed to help workers vulnerable to
challenges presented by automation to:
Understand how advancements in
technology will impact the Facilities
Management sector and their own
jobs
Feel excited by the opportunities that
new technology offers
Understand how roles in the Facilities
Management sector will change and
what skills will be required
Identify their strengths, transferable
skills and areas for development
Understand and practice skills &
know-how required to manipulate,
work with and/ or create technologies
or data
Feel more confident at interacting
with technology at work
Focus on core skills such as
adaptability, communication, literacy,
numeracy and problem solving
Feel better equipped with key
employability skills to move from ‘job’
to ‘career’
Where possible, employers are also
encouraged to facilitate opportunities
that will enable beneficiaries to:
Experience new roles and add to
their work history by putting their
new skills into practice through
internal work shadowing
Establish networks so that
beneficiaries can empower each
other to pursue lifelong learning
through mutual support and peer to
peer learning
Through Future Fit training, ‘at risk’
workers envision a positive future in
which they are exposed to a wider range
of sector specific career options, learning
pathways, support & resources, and
peers who have successfully made the
same transition.
PATH TO SUCCESS A new upskilling support programme is being off ered to front line FM employees to help
enhance their learning pathways and broaden their career options