Senior Facilities Management 2015 – Skills & Qualifications

In an article published on the RICS website, Les Pickford (former Editor of the Construction Journal) and

William Betts (Associate at Recruitment Consultancy MacDonald & Company) discuss the current FM skills

issues, the type of support typically offered by companies and what employers are likely to be looking for

when recruiting for senior FM roles, throughout 2015 and beyond.

The economic climate has meant that FM budgets have been reduced over the past few years leading to some

centralisation of facilities management and FM services. This has increased opportunities for more senior facilities

managers to work within multi-site or multi-national FM Models. The economy, especially in the UK, has a restored

confidence with recent growth, therefore companies will be looking to attract new staff and retain existing staff

through a reinvigorated, work environment led FM service, delivered by strategic facilities management.

What are the current skills issues?

Facilities Managers aspiring to move their career forward, taking on a more strategic position, who have continued

professional development qualifications, such as MRICS and BIFM L5 to back up their industry experience are

more likely to succeed.

While the facilities management career path is typically based on experience, companies recruiting for strategic

roles within the FM space will look towards the increasing number of senior FMs that have the MRICS and BIFM L5

qualifications.

What support do companies offer?

Some companies will provide training and institute membership as an incentive to retain good facilities managers

and attract new talent, some offer pathways to AssocRICS or BIFM L4 qualifications and most offer IOSH training.

What are employers looking for?

Qualifications and experience aside, employers recruiting for strategic FM roles will be looking for candidates to

have a natural passion for good service delivery, strategic problem solving and effective team management skills,

however, FM roles by their very nature are diverse, so the attributes required for each individual role will be varied.

Read More! The full article by Les Pickford in discussion with William Betts entitled; Strategic facilities

management skills to prioritise in 2015 is published on the RICS website here http://bit.ly/1sxqomb or find out

more about the benefits of RICS membership for Facilities Managers here: http://bit.ly/1z7uHqw