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A 6 www.telegraph.co.uk/job Thursday, October 23, 2008 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CAREERS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW SUPPORT SYSTEMS WORK, REST AND PLAY, THEY AIM TO PROP UP MANY AREAS OF OUR LIVES. THEA JOURDAN CHAMPIONS THE MULTI-TALENTED MODERN FACILITIES MANAGER F @ ALAMY ‘‘ acilities management is one of the fastest growing professions in the UK, and yet its importance as a sector is often overlooked. “The problem is that facilities management is an invisible profession when everything is going right,” explains Dominic Rossi, operations manager of recruitment agency Facilities Management Resources (FMR). “But when things go wrong, that’s a different story.” Facilities managers ensure that companies run smoothly, on time, and within budget. Without them, the lifts would stall, the canteen would run out of food, the lights would go out and no one would know what to do in the event of a fire. In the worst-case scenario, a firm whose facilities are not up to scratch might be bankrupted or in danger of being charged for corporate manslaughter. Hence, the facilities manager’s role involves making sure that companies follow strict health and safety legislation, that data is stored securely and that internet security is organised. And, wherever they are based, be it in office blocks, racecourses, sports arenas or hospitals, facilities managers must be able to juggle a multitude of tasks and cope with any emergency. “A facilities manager has to be knowledgeable in many different areas and the profession attracts individuals who enjoy diversity and the day-to-day challenges the role presents,” says Ian Fielder, chief executive of the British Institute of Facilities Management. The FM industry is big business: it is estimated that, on the whole, the top 20 companies in the sector employ about 450,000 people. Over the past 15 years, the sector has become increasingly professionalised. The BIFM was founded in 1993 and now has over 12,000 members. Growth in the sector has been driven by various factors, including the Government’s push towards Private Finance Initiatives (now Public Private Partnerships), which mean that dedicated facilities managers are needed to manage projects that will replace and upgrade the country’s infrastructure and public service facilities. In the past, many companies dealt with building maintenance and the health and safety of their staff in an ad hoc way, often delegating the responsibility to hard-pressed secretaries or PAs. Now, with globalisation and increased legal complexity, that is not a viable option. “FM is constantly evolving and the key challenge for FMs is to keep up with industry developments, new services and the expanding requirements of legislation and regulation,” says Fielder. “For those that prove capable, adaptive and calm enough to deal with unforeseen pressures, progress can come quite quickly — especially for those with good project management and client-facing skills.” The sector attracts equal numbers of men and women in both “hard” areas, including technical services and building maintenance, and in “soft” They may be working behind the scenes but facilities managers bring operating practices to the forefront services, such as catering, cleaning and security. Senior facilities managers can also reap substantial financial rewards, earning upwards of £100,000, says Rossi. The diversity of the profession means it attracts people with many different employment backgrounds and skill sets, including customer service and administration experience, and technical know-how. Those at the sharp end of the sector can often move into management roles. People either make their way up in the FM industry or move GOING UNDERGROUND MAKING FESTIVALS FUN into it from related disciplines such Every year an estimated 1.1 billion Nearly 40,000 festival-goers went as HR, contract management people descend into the London to this year’s Big Chill music festival and project management. Underground. That figure is on the rise. at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, “Some years ago FM was very “It is fundamental that London has a and attendance is rising year-onmuch a ‘second career’, following modern metro system that can support the year. “The event is about the size of a small achievements in a particular growth in the city,” says Richard Parry, town,” says Claire Sampson of management aspect of building or service London Underground’s director of strategy solutions firm, Just Add Water. “And it’s a management. Today it can and service development. “Over the next 10 massive task to deliver the right be a first-choice move for years there is going to be huge change, and entertainment, food, accessible water, and, of those leaving school or we have thousands of people working night course, clean loos [the firm’s festival team university,” says Fielder. by night installing new systems. Projects like won the Best Toilets award in 2007!].” the Line Renewal Programme will increase “We are beginning to see more recognition of capacity, and introduce new train fleets. It’s how important a good facilities team is to JOBS ONLINE: going to be a massive challenge to update the good event management. Growing numbers jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ technology and make it suitable for 2015.” present an important challenge.” careers-insider ‘‘ TAKE THREE... FACILITIES TEAMS AT WORK The diversity of the profession means it attracts people with many different backgrounds and a range of skill sets 1 2 3 ENSURING GOOD HEALTH Steve McGuire oversees the asset management of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and sits on the board of directors. He is passionate about raising the status of FM in a hospital trust that deals with 750,000 patients every year. “Facilities management should be seen as a professional part of the broader team, not just as a support. We have professionally trained people, such as electricians, plumbers, engineers and designers working with us. There is a gap in reflecting their professional status, so we are keen to achieve an established career path for facilities experts who join us.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH Smooth operators WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP BIG BUSINESS WORKING page 6 Go East PAVING THE WAY FOR GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION TEAMS page 7 Racing certainty HOW CAREFUL PLANNING MAKES ROYAL ASCOT A WINNER page 8 ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY ADAM SIMPSON AT HEART Facilities management CAREERS IN A 6 www.telegraph.co.uk/job Thursday, October 23, 2008 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CAREERS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW SUPPORT SYSTEMS WORK, REST AND PLAY, THEY AIM TO PROP UP MANY AREAS OF OUR LIVES. THEA JOURDAN CHAMPIONS THE MULTI-TALENTED MODERN FACILITIES MANAGER F @ ALAMY ‘‘ acilit THE DAILY TELEGRAPH Thursday, October 23, 2008 www.telegraph.co.uk/job A 7 GRADUATES CAREERS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT THE TRAINING ACADEMIES THAT HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOAL Here’s our at-a-glance guide to the companies that run training academies for graduates who want to develop core business s A 8 www.telegraph.co.uk/job Thursday, October 23, 2008 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CAREERS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PEOPLE ACTION PLUS WINNING ROYAL ASCOT IS ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY ANTICIPATED EVENTS ON BOTH THE SOCIAL AND SPORTING CALENDAR. ESME McAVOY MEETS THE MAN WHO HAS ENSURED ITS SMOOTH RUNNING F