The Facilities Management industry continues to grow, with recent findings by market research firm Market & Customer Insight (MCi) predicting a rise from £106.3bn to £117bn by 2017. 

As time progresses and outsourcing begins to become the ‘norm’ for companies from blue chip brands to SMEs and enterprises, organisations are increasingly outsourcing their non-core services to FM professionals. 

It is common knowledge that the public sector has continued to focus on driving down costs, however, private sector businesses are also feeling the wrath of the economic climate. As a result, companies are increasingly looking to FMs to help reduce costly outgoings by delivering an effective service with fewer resources.  

However, despite this, the FM industry still remains in the shadows and we are working hard to promote the fact that our industry is thriving, contributing between 5 – 8% GDP. This figure highlights just how successfully FMs and FM companies are servicing organisations, which is allowing the FM industry to continue to grow. 

Throughout our journey to promote the industry and propel it on to a national and international stage, it has become apparent that the sector is increasingly in need of high profile industry ambassadors.

 

Thee ambassadors have the potential to play a large and meaningful role in the recruitment of young talent. Unbeknown to many career advisors and school leavers, the facilities management industry is one, which offers a lifelong career with a large array of different paths to choose from and bountiful rewards. Raising awareness of FM as a career path remains at the heart of what we do as today’s school leavers are tomorrow’s leaders.

In addition to recruiting young talent, the industry is also being professionalised with on the job qualifications and distance learning courses being offered to the workforce by employers and trade bodies. 

An example of the opportunities being offered is the FM MBA, which the FMA has developed in association with Sheffield Hallam University. The last 10 years has seen the FM industry evolve and its Facilities Managers with it. These experienced Facilities Managers have extensive knowledge and skill in both hard and soft services but simply haven’t had time to gain any formal qualifications along the way. Employers can now offer this opportunity to their hard working staff. Until now, there has been a gap in the industry for this type of qualification and the FM MBA serves to close this gap and provide an ideal opportunity for FM professionals. 

In this case, the MBA has been designed as a unique opportunity for experienced Facilities Mangers to gain a formal qualification whilst receiving continued support from their employer and continuing in their current role. For less experienced professionals, there are courses such as the FMA Certificate course which has the added benefit of being accredited by RICS and on completion provides students with RICS Associate grade of membership.

Despite difficult economic circumstances and the economy only missing a triple dip recession by a minute margin, the FM industry is fortunate in being in a position of growth and development. In light of this economic stance, the FM industry will be instrumental in continuing to help rebuild the UK economy, assisting in making companies across all industries and sectors to become more profitable. This will be attributable, in part to the increased productivity that can be achieved through the effective use of outsourcing. In particular, outsourcing is likely to significantly increase productivity in the public sector. 

However, on the contrary, the FM industry must ensure that it manages to maintain its own margins. With demand for higher services at a lower price, this will force service providers and recipients of the service to look for ever increasing cost effective FM solutions.

Increasingly, as an extension of outsourcing individual non-core services, Total Facilities Management (TFM) is fast becoming a trend within a variety of sectors, being seen to reduce overall outsourcing costs and improve results.

A question, which causes great debate, is whether Total Facilities Management (TFM) or the shared services model is more effective? This is a question without a straightforward answer. Both models have been seen to work in the past and often it is down to the individual company choice, which model they prefer. This is usually based on their service offering and client requirements. The trend for which method is most popular tends to be cyclical, however in the future, there may be big changes in this arena. Currently, TFM is the favourite. The difference is that TFM is largely driven by contractors and not the client. As a result of that it’s here to stay and is starting to have an impact globally.

Entwined in the facilities management service offering is the consideration of sustainability and energy conservation. Ensuring buildings are as energy efficient as possible is the responsibility of the facilities manager and an area that is continuing to grow in both skillset and demand. However, depending on the building, this can result in a dilemma. 

With 80% of the stock in the UK classed as old buildings, it is not advisable to simply rip out the old systems and input the new. It is a lot easier to build an energy efficient building from scratch, compared to adapting an old building, but there must be a balance of what the facility has currently and what they want to achieve in the long-term. 

It is important to consider targets set by the Government but also to ensure that we don’t destroy our buildings as a result of trying to reach these high-energy standards. There has to be a balance, which is achievable for the future. Ultimately, FMs must have the knowledge and ability to implement energy efficient solutions where possible.

In conclusion, the FM industry remains strong and there are many exciting developments taking place. It is a vibrant industry that will continue to grow and develop and given time, achieve the recognition that it deserves worldwide. The key to the success of our sector is attracting the younger generation and providing them with a career which offers both longevity and potential.