FREE Ebook Download: Starting and Developing a Career in Facilities Management

Facilities Management is an enormous sector, and the term can include an almost infinite number of roles, job titles and management levels.

The role is to ensure that the physical environment is always consistent with the needs of the business. This involves ensuring work space is optimised for current and future functions and staff numbers are sufficient, whilst also complying with numerous regulations and laws.

A career in Facilities Management will take candidates down different paths depending on their speciality, experience, qualifications and ability.

In this Ebook we will: Discuss educations and qualifications for those looking to start out in the sector. Look at ways more experienced workers can develop their career.

Success in the industry will depend on your ability to remain competitive in the marketplace, and being able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles behind Facilities Management.

The basic function of the role is to ensure the business does its job well, as oppose to deciding what the business does. The term ‘Facilities Management’ applies to a vast number of roles. A large organisation with multiple sites could have a Facilities Manager for all premises with a ‘Person in Command’ for each individual site, whereas smaller businesses are likely to have just a single Facilities Manager.

Many Facilities Managers do not have formal Facilities Management qualifications, instead they have sector and industry related experience as well as skills acquired from elsewhere. However, direct qualifications and training in Facilities Management are available. These can often be easier to show prospective employers, rather than sector related experiences.

For both new starters and experienced workers, knowledge and understanding of health and safety principles and legislation is vital. What’s just as important from an employability perspective is the ability to demonstrate this understanding.

Qualities such as time management, communication and interpersonal skills, as well as technical knowledge will take time to build up. But being able to demonstrate these at an interview will be of huge benefit, whether you are a newcomer to Facilities Management or an experienced worker looking for new opportunities.