The Deborah Rowland Scholarship, launched in August 2024 and managed by IWFM through its Charitable Foundation, gives funding and mentoring to people entering or early in a workplace and facilities management career who cannot otherwise fund their development. It particularly supports those from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds, and IWFM is asking the profession to promote it widely.
One of the workplace and facilities management profession’s most respected and high-profile leaders, Deborah Rowland, set out to create new opportunities for the next generation of WFM professionals through a combination of financial support, mentoring and career development.
When the scholarship launched in August 2024, Deborah was living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. She established the Deborah Rowland Scholarship to remove barriers to professional progression and help talented individuals from a wide range of backgrounds build careers in workplace and facilities management. The scholarship reflects her longstanding commitment to the profession and her wish to leave a legacy by creating opportunities for people who might otherwise struggle to fund their own development.
Who the scholarship is for
The scholarship is designed for people whose personal circumstances, or those of their employer, would otherwise prevent them from funding the qualifications and development needed to progress.
Eligible applicants may be:
- Preparing to enter the workplace and facilities management profession
- At the beginning of their WFM career
- Working in a junior-level role
- Unable to fund professional development independently
- In need of additional support to progress
- From an underrepresented or disadvantaged background
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) is encouraging its members and the wider profession to promote the opportunity so that it reaches as many prospective applicants as possible.
Creating a more accessible profession
Workplace and facilities management offers a broad range of career opportunities, spanning operations, sustainability, workplace strategy, workplace experience, engineering, technical services, compliance, property, technology and leadership.
However, access to qualifications, training and mentoring is not always equal.
For some early-career professionals, the cost of development becomes a major obstacle. Others work for organisations that are unable to fund external training, limiting their ability to gain recognised qualifications or compete for more advanced positions.
The Deborah Rowland Scholarship aims to address that imbalance by giving capable and motivated individuals the support they need to move forward, and the confidence, knowledge and professional networks needed to progress.
Its wider purpose is to strengthen the profession by bringing through future leaders from more diverse backgrounds and ensuring that potential is not lost simply because development is unaffordable.
Deborah Rowland’s contribution to the profession
At the time of the launch, Deborah had served as Director of Public Affairs at Sodexo UK and Ireland since 2017 and had built a highly respected career within workplace and facilities management.
Reflecting on her experience, she said:
“The FM world has been the most fantastic environment to grow and learn in. I cannot recommend it enough to someone at the beginning of their journey. I have always striven to ensure that this is a profession to be proud of and attractive to future talent.”
The scholarship reflects Deborah’s longstanding commitment to raising the profile of FM and making sure new professionals are given the opportunity to succeed.
She added:
“By providing this Scholarship I hope to be able to give others the chance to improve their prospects and compete at a higher level, onwards and upwards, no matter what their starting point. They simply need to demonstrate the desire and passion to achieve their goal.”
Financial support and mentoring
The scholarship will provide more than financial assistance.
Mentoring will also play an important role, giving recipients access to professional guidance, encouragement and insight from experienced people within the sector.
Financial support can open the door to qualifications and training, while mentoring can help individuals:
- Build professional confidence
- Understand career options
- Develop industry knowledge
- Navigate workplace challenges
- Expand their professional networks
- Prepare for future leadership roles
The objective is not simply to fund a course, but to give recipients a genuine platform from which to build a long-term career.
IWFM’s role and how the fund works
IWFM will manage the scholarship process and support its long-term development through the revival of its Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation will jointly fund the scholarship and provide a structure through which individuals and organisations can make additional contributions. That structure supports fair and effective management of the programme and creates the potential to support more applicants over time.
Employers, industry partners and individual professionals who share the scholarship’s commitment to inclusion and opportunity in WFM careers will be able to contribute through the Foundation. At launch, further details of donations and the application process were expected to be announced separately.
Supporting a more diverse talent pipeline
IWFM Chief Executive Linda Hausmanis emphasised the importance of widening access to professional development.
She said:
“WFM is a diverse and dynamic profession where anyone can forge a rich career path, but not everyone has an equal opportunity to get ahead.”
She added:
“The Foundation’s important work will ensure that the Scholarship provides maximum value now and in the long term. I’m proud to work with a trailblazer like Deborah to help the next generation of WFM get in and get on, and to support an enduring legacy for a true WFM role model.”
The scholarship arrives at a time when the profession faces persistent skills shortages, while buildings, workplaces and estates become more complex and technology-driven. Attracting people from a broader range of backgrounds is therefore a matter of the profession’s long-term capability, not only of inclusion.
The scholarship can help by:
- Encouraging new talent to consider FM careers
- Supporting professional development
- Improving social mobility
- Increasing diversity within the sector
- Developing future FM leaders
- Strengthening the profession’s talent pipeline
How the FM community can help
Facilities Management professionals, employers and IWFM members are encouraged to help the scholarship reach the people who could benefit. That can mean:
- Sharing information across professional networks
- Encouraging suitable individuals to apply
- Supporting the scholarship fund through the IWFM Charitable Foundation
- Offering mentoring or professional guidance
- Raising awareness of FM career opportunities
A legacy built around opportunity
The Deborah Rowland Scholarship is a deeply personal initiative, but its impact could extend across the profession for many years.
It reflects Deborah’s belief that workplace and facilities management should be a profession in which talent, passion and ambition matter more than financial circumstances or starting point. Through funding, mentoring and the support of the IWFM Charitable Foundation, the scholarship will help people take their first steps, gain confidence and compete for opportunities that might otherwise have remained out of reach.
For the wider WFM community, the message is straightforward: share the opportunity, support the Foundation and help give the next generation of professionals the chance to succeed.
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