Specialist qualifications
Although there are mixed opinions on the value of general academic qualifications in FM, the general consensus is that industry-specific qualifications are very important. When we consider the business operations that FM professionals may be involved with (e.g. Health and Safety, Engineering, Project Management) it is clear to see that highly specialized qualifications can be vital to these functions. The results of our salary survey show that qualifications such as IOSH, NEBOSH and IWFM qualifications are increasingly sought after, and in many cases are a pre-requisite for certain positions. The survey results also highlighted the sheer breadth of specialist qualifications available within FM, with over 50 mentioned in our survey sample alone.
Soft and hard skills
FM professionals tend to be a highly skilled bunch. In our experience, FMs like to get stuck-in and are eager to learn and develop themselves. This hands-on approach means that the best FM professionals develop a wide range of both hard and soft skills throughout their career. Some argue that formal qualifications don’t really contribute to these skills, and undertaking them can be perceived as an unnecessary ‘box-ticking’ exercise – particularly with more general, academic qualifications which may not be industry-specific