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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 skills: CARILLION PLC The company’s training scheme is geared towards developing relevant professional and post-graduate qualifications over a two-year period. Students are professionally trained on the job. They are also awarded £500 to spend on personal development in the first year. www.carillionplc.com ELIOR UK Offering in-house specialist trainers and modules including leadership and finance, as well as external training courses, Elior training provides a thorough understanding of what the facilities management sector constitutes, particularly in the catering arena. The firm also enjoys an association with Wiltshire College, where courses such as management and customer service can be taken at NVQ level. www.elior.co.uk JOHNSON CONTROLS GLOBAL WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS The academy ethic revolves around best practice, and an easy-to-navigate Olympics-style levels scheme. Bronze is for facility co-ordinators and people in similar jobs who want to become a facilities manager. Silver is for operating facilities managers with workplace knowledge, but with no formal qualifications, who would like to move on to a more professional level while Gold is the level that aspiring account or customer business managers, or directors in the workplace solutions area, should enter. Each level includes up to10 modules in a mixed programme of in-house and external courses. Candidates are also eligible to take British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) exams. Courses vary in length, and students can opt for parttime study while working. www.johnsoncontrols.co. JONES LANG LASALLE This course also works to a a best practice programme, and the main aim is to teach people leadership skills. Students take eight modules involving workshops that lead to a final assessment, which will pave the way for qualification for a Jones Lang LaSalle facilities management position. Subjects include finance, pricing and budget control. All the while, students will be working on accreditation by the BIFM and the International Facilities Management Association. There are 12-15 training days throughout a one-year course. www.joneslanglasalle.co HOW THE BIFM CAN DEVELOP YOUR CAREER EASTERN PROMISE IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU ARE LOSING THEIRS... YOU COULD BE ON YOUR WAY TO A GLOBAL CAREER, SAYS JANETTE MARSHALL booming in the Middle East, the Far East, Russia and Eastern Europe.” Although things have slowed globally owing to the current banking crisis, Marston is confident that the market will pick up again, “especially in locations driven by oil revenue”. “The prospects for people with experience in FM, especially those who have worked for blue-chip companies are excellent just now B ritish facilities managers are sought after throughout the world,” says Pete Marston, international development director of construction recruitment firm Hill McGlynn, who is based in Dubai. “And FM recruitment has been in these areas.” The perks of the job are attractive, too. “Most international locations are tax-free, and there are attractions such as relocation or accommodation allowances, medical insurance, and air fares home,” says Greta Musu, principal international consultant at Portfolio International Recruitment, who is based in London. She is currently recruiting in the hotel, retail, restaurant and sports stadia sectors in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. So what qualities should a good facilities manager possess? “Client liaison is a big part of the job,” says Robert Nunn, learning and development manager within FM at Jones Lang LaSalle. “For example, you could be working with commercial property owners to maximise their buildings’ profitability, while considering the needs of their tenants. You’ll also be working with health and safety and building regulators.” Facilities managers must also factor in the services provided by third parties, such as electricity and water providers, or contract cleaners. Good financial acumen is also important. “Problem-solving, such as how to manage removal of rubbish and provide water and fire services to high-rise buildings, are the kinds of things that have to be dealt with by FMs,” says Marston. “On big projects, such as the mega-storey towers that are currently being built in Dubai, FMs will work on a project from inception through construction and into operation.” And, as Nunn points out, the facilities manager’s role is an autonomous one: “You have to be self-motivated and flexible to deliver results. It would suit the kind of person who is always busy and involved and who enjoys a variety of challenges. It’s a job that never lets up.” Most careers in FM start with people being trained on the job. “To get into FM it is essential to have commitment and willingness to learn,” says John McEwen, head of training at Elior UK, specialists in the hospitality industry. “Selection for training is a vigorous process,” says Claire Timmins, retention and development manager for Carillion plc. “We run a one-day assessment of graduates’ behaviour against Carillion’s six core-behaviour values, including openness, collaboration, innovation, mutual dependency and professional delivery.” Graduates at the company might work for a year at a bluechip firm, while studying at Carillion’s academy. In their second year of training, they will transfer to a different customer group, such as the public sector. At Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions, graduates are assigned a “real job” while following the programme. “Students taste a broad range of jobs here,”says Rachel JordanEvans, head of the firm’s resourcing and development department. And, for those with their sights set on working abroad, Marston says: “Getting good qualifications and working for a well known company for four or five years is the way to go.” With over 12,000 members, including 500 businesses throughout the country, the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is the biggest organisational body supporting facilities management in the UK. (The body’s 2007 awards event is pictured above). “Our mission at the BIFM is to advance the profession – to consolidate FM as a vital management discipline,” says a BIFM spokesman. “We support facilities management as a viable career option in practical ways, through providing a qualification framework and training programmes. We also raise the profile of the profession within business and government.” The BIFM offers and endorses a number of routes to gaining the top BIFM qualification. The first step is the BIFM exam, divided into two stages, which test general management and specialist knowledge appropriate to the field. In place of BIFM examinations, managers can study at BIFM-accredited academies, or match knowledge requirements after at least five years’ professional experience. Having passed through one of these routes, managers are eligible to demonstrate evidence of a variety of practical experience and skills. If the candidate meets the management criteria, then, after a successful interview with a BIFM qualification panel, the candidate can upgrade to a BIFM (Qual). www.bifm.org.uk 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