FM CAREERS - TRAINING
SEPTEMBER 2021 61
Facilities management is at a
pivotal moment in its relatively
short history. Having grown
exponentially over the last 30 years,
according to the most recent data
the sector employs approximately 10
per cent of the UK’s workforce and
contributes around seven per cent
(£120 billion) to national GDP, with a
significant impact on people’s daily
lives and on the nation’s economy.
What’s more, the Coronavirus
pandemic has foregrounded the role of
the facilities manager, with organisations
and workers alike looking to our
profession to provide safe, healthy,
comfortable and productive workplaces
at the moment when the very concept
of ‘workplace’ is being rethought. Add in
the critical sustainability challenges of
climate change and decarbonisation to
net zero by 2050 (buildings account for
nearly 40 per cent of global greenhouse
gas emissions) and it’s clear that
workplace and facilities management
has an unprecedented opportunity
to demonstrate its value, both to
organisations and society in general.
Maximising this opportunity requires
a profession with the skills, training,
vision and adaptability to help address
these mega challenges whilst optimising
rapidly evolving technology and acting
innovatively. The world of work is
evolving fast; the old ways of working
won’t do any more.
ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE
Today, FM is experiencing a significant
and growing skills shortage at all levels
due partly to its own growth, but also
to a lack of applicants with the right
skills, the a… er-e‡ ects of Brexit (prior
to the end of free movement, EU
nationals accounted for up to 24 per
cent of the workforce across the skills
spectrum), and demographic changes
(the average age of facilities managers
is steadily increasing). Our latest Market
Outlook survey published in April this
year revealed that only 18 per cent
of respondents expected to be able
to recruit workers with the skills their
organisations need over the coming 12
months.
IWFM has long argued that our
profession needs to invest in upskilling
and attracting new talent, and that
apprenticeships - employer-centred
to provide the skills and knowledge
industry needs - are an essential part of
the solution. The signs are encouraging;
our recent Pay and Prospects research
found positive evidence among
employers on the professional
development front, with more o‡ ering
apprenticeships, mentoring and CPD
opportunities. Only one in a 100 o‡ ers
nothing, compared to 15 per cent in
2019.
On the supply side, the Institute has
played a key role in developing four FM
Apprenticeship Standards (at levels 2,
3 and 4, and now at level 6), working
with stakeholder groups, including
major sector employers and education
providers. These standards complement
the career pathway that IWFM had
already developed to support facilities
professionals at every stage of their
career.
DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP
In a significant development, nearly
three years a… er the Level 6 standard
was first developed, a new Level 6
‘Senior/Head of Facilities Management’
Degree Apprenticeship is being o‡ ered
for the first time from this autumn by
Bolton University. Targeted at those in
strategic positions within the sector,
the programme will enable learners
to gain key skills in developing and
managing strategy and policy, change
and programme management, and
operational and technical leadership;
as well helping to develop generic
behaviours required for professional
success, such as collaboration and
influencing skills, leadership and a
systematic approach.
We want to see a greater uptake of
apprenticeships across the board and
Bolton’s course is an important and very
welcome step in the right direction. This
Levy-funded apprenticeship opens up
another excellent avenue into senior
workplace and facilities management
at a pivotal moment for our profession.
Employers have been incentivised to
take on apprentices with additional
Government funding, so I hope we will
see more and better apprenticeship
provision going forward.
This apprenticeship standard is
designed to provide su‡ iciently
transferable skills to enable a successful
apprentice to perform a senior facilities
management role for an employer of any
size and in any relevant sector.
Successful completion of a Level 6
apprenticeship meets the requirements
for IWFM’s Certified grade (CIWFM). As
we have set our sights on becoming
a chartered profession, the more
options that exist for workplace and
facilities managers to reach the Level 6
standard the better for them and for our
profession as a whole.
APPRENTICESHIP ALTERNATIVE
Level 6 apprenticeships are becoming
an increasingly popular alternative to
traditional, full-time higher education
as a pathway to a successful career.
They o‡ er the opportunity to start
earning (without the debt of a traditional
university degree), while developing
occupational skills and gaining
workplace experience.
There is already evidence (from the
O‡ ice for Students) to indicate that
degree apprenticeships support social
mobility and diversity by attracting
more female participation in maledominated
subjects and more learners
from low participation and economically
disadvantaged areas; something
that was not possible before the
Apprenticeship Levy was introduced.
By helping to create a more skilled
workforce, the Level 6 FM Apprenticeship
will improve innovation, productivity
and sustainability throughout the
sector. It will help the next generation of
workplace and facilities professionals
to enjoy exciting and successful
careers in this diverse and dynamic
sector, enabling them to create better
workplaces and a new future of work for
the benefit of us all.
THE APPRENTICESHIP
OPPORTUNITY Linda Hausmanis, IWFM CEO says levy-funded apprenticeships
allow employers to invest in their workforce by combining
education, work-based learning and ongoing development