One of the workplace and facilities management profession’s most respected and high-profile leaders, Deborah Rowland, is helping create new opportunities for the next generation of WFM professionals through a combination of financial support, mentoring and career development.
Following her diagnosis with terminal cancer, Deborah has established the Deborah Rowland Scholarship to remove barriers to professional progression and help talented individuals from a wide range of backgrounds build successful careers in workplace and facilities management.
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:
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management is encouraging its members and the wider profession to promote the opportunity so that it reaches as many prospective applicants as possible.
Workplace and facilities management offers an exceptionally broad range of career opportunities, spanning operations, sustainability, workplace strategy, engineering, 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 can become a major obstacle. Others may 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.
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 opportunities are unaffordable.
Deborah has served as Director of Public Affairs at Sodexo UK and Ireland since 2017 and has 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 ensuring that 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.”
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.
For someone at the beginning of their career, that combination can be transformative.
Financial support can open the door to qualifications and training, while mentoring can help individuals:
The objective is not simply to fund a course, but to provide recipients with a genuine platform from which to build a long-term career.
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management 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.
This creates the potential to support more applicants over time and broaden the scholarship’s social impact.
Employers, industry partners and individual professionals who wish to support greater access to WFM careers will be able to contribute through the Foundation, helping ensure that the initiative continues to grow.
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 is facing persistent skills shortages and a growing need to attract new talent.
By supporting people at the beginning of their careers, the initiative has the potential to strengthen the future workforce while also making the sector more representative and inclusive.
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 deserving individuals take their first steps, gain confidence and compete for opportunities that might otherwise have remained out of reach.
It is a fitting legacy for someone who has spent her career championing the value of facilities management and encouraging others to recognise the opportunities it offers.
For the wider WFM community, the message is clear: share the opportunity, support the Foundation and help ensure the next generation of professionals has the chance to succeed.
To find out how to apply, the closing date and more, click here.
