As debate continues around the impact of artificial intelligence on employment, many industries are preparing for significant workforce changes. Recent research suggests that one in six employers expects AI to reduce headcount over the next year, with automation increasingly taking over routine tasks across a range of sectors.
However, according to Peter Forshaw, Managing Director of Maxwell Stephens, Facilities Management presents a very different picture.
Speaking to the IWFM's Facilitate Magazine for its recent feature, Employers expect AI to shrink workforce, Peter argued that the FM sector's greatest challenge is not an excess of employees—it is an ongoing shortage of skilled professionals. In fact, AI could increase the value of experienced facilities managers rather than replace them.
Here's a closer look at why Facilities Management is likely to buck the wider employment trend.
While many industries are considering how automation may reduce staffing requirements, Facilities Management continues to grapple with one persistent issue: attracting and retaining skilled people.
"The facilities management sector already faces significant skills shortages, particularly in technical and specialist areas. If anything, the challenge is finding enough qualified people rather than having too many."
Demand remains particularly strong for professionals with expertise in:
For employers, recruiting experienced professionals has become increasingly competitive. Rather than reducing headcount, many organisations are struggling to fill vacancies with suitably qualified candidates.
Against this backdrop, widespread AI-driven redundancies seem unlikely.
Peter believes that AI will fundamentally change how Facilities Management professionals work, but not whether they are needed.
"AI might change the nature of some roles, but I'm not seeing widespread plans to shrink headcounts as a result."
Instead of replacing FM professionals, AI is increasingly helping them work more efficiently by automating repetitive administrative tasks and improving operational insight.
Examples include:
These technologies reduce administrative burden, allowing facilities professionals to spend more time on activities that create genuine business value.
"Where AI is making inroads, it tends to free up FM professionals to focus on higher-value work such as strategic planning, client relationships and complex problem-solving."
Rather than replacing people, AI is helping elevate the Facilities Management profession into an increasingly strategic function.
Although Peter does not expect AI to significantly reduce employment within FM, he is clear that the skills employers value are changing.
Modern workplaces are becoming increasingly data-driven, with smart buildings generating vast amounts of operational information every day.
As a result, successful Facilities Managers will increasingly need confidence in:
This does not mean every Facilities Manager needs to become a data scientist.
However, digital literacy, analytical thinking and confidence with technology are rapidly becoming essential skills for career progression.
The profession is evolving beyond operational management towards strategic workplace leadership.
While AI presents enormous opportunities, Peter believes organisations risk making a fundamental mistake if they view AI purely as a technology investment.
"The bigger risk in my view is that employers who don't invest in upskilling their workforce alongside AI adoption may struggle to retain talent."
Facilities Management remains very much a candidate-led market.
Today's professionals increasingly expect employers to invest in their development, particularly as new technologies reshape the workplace.
Training in areas such as:
will become increasingly important.
Businesses that neglect employee development risk creating a workforce divided between those equipped to embrace new technology and those left behind.
From a recruitment perspective, we are already seeing candidates favour employers that demonstrate a genuine commitment to learning, development and digital transformation.
Much of the conversation around artificial intelligence focuses on job losses.
Facilities Management tells a different story.
Peter Forshaw's perspective highlights a sector where AI is more likely to enhance professional capability than eliminate roles.
Routine tasks may become increasingly automated, but the qualities that define exceptional Facilities Managers—leadership, commercial judgement, stakeholder management, communication and strategic thinking—cannot be replicated by technology.
As AI handles more administrative processes, human expertise becomes even more valuable.
For employers, the message is clear.
AI should not be viewed as a means of reducing headcount, but as an opportunity to build more productive, better-informed and strategically focused Facilities Management teams.
Those organisations that combine investment in technology with investment in people will be best placed to attract talent, retain expertise and build resilient workplace functions for the future.
At Maxwell Stephens, we continue to see strong demand for skilled Facilities Management professionals across every level of the market. As AI reshapes the profession, our focus remains the same: helping organisations secure the talented people who can combine technical expertise with strategic leadership to thrive in the workplaces of tomorrow.
For a confidential discussion about a senior appointment, contact our London office.
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