In challenging economic times, facilities management within any organisation can be seen as an easy target for operational savings. But, argues Steven Proudfoot, current economic conditions also present opportunities for both in-house and outsourced FMs to show their value.

As a still-new industry, facilities management has perhaps never had to contend with a recession on this scale. Although outsourced FM employers are being affected, they are demonstrating a high level of resilience. However, the most serious risk remains of clients going out of business. A recent recession paper compiled by Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for facilities management, showed the outsourcing market performing poorly in the second half of 2008 with total contract value down 20%. This was mainly because of fewer large contracts being awarded. However, strong performance in the first half of the year meant the overall contract value of 2008 remained higher than that of 2007.

Positives can be drawn from the current situation and they include the attention now being paid to the essential role outsourcing plays in helping businesses balance their books. More and more businesses are recognising the benefits of outsourcing services such as their building maintenance, catering, security and cleaning. FM is also playing an important role in helping operate services in big public sector organisations such as schools and hospitals.

As well as this role in the era of financial prudency, the demand created by the new green agenda is increasingly falling to facilities managers to meet. In its budget the Government pledged more than £260m of new money for skills training in sectors with ‘strong future demand’. There is no industry more relevant to this than facilities management. It underpins so many areas of our everyday lives yet there is insufficient acknowledgement of its importance.

Pushing the skill agenda

Over the last year, the Government has been reviewing the way it awards public sector contracts to include extra money for skills training. Asset Skills has been working to push FM up the agenda during discussions on service contracts.

We have developed new occupational standards in FM and are fast-tracking a facilities management apprenticeship in response to calls from major FM employers in the outsourced sector, including MITIE, Interserve, OCS and Carillion.

It is essential the workforce is highly skilled and understands the complexities and changing nature of the industry. The new apprenticeship will help draw in new talent and ensure FM’s future is healthy. The framework comprises an NVQ, a Technical Certificate and Key Skills. Now the new standards have been produced, awarding bodies, including City & Guilds, are prioritising work to produce a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for FM.

Work has also been continuing to create new pathways and entry routes into FM, issues of concern highlighted in our Sector Skills Agreement research of 2006. Elsewhere in this book our FM Specialist Karen Waterlow outlines these plans for new qualifications in more detail. Other activities we have carried out in the last year include work with industry group Action FM, producing a guide to insourcing and outsourcing called 'Inside Out' and a leaflet that takes an independent view of the benefits an FM strategy can offer an organisation.

The Asset Skills 'Barometer' and 'State of the Sector' reports have also proved popular with employers. These surveys of FM businesses are carried out every six months. The Barometer was initially set up to try and establish a link between skills investment and productivity but has proved a valuable tool in charting which skills employers find most useful during these testing times. They include contract relationship skills, contract and procurement, and financial and budget management skills.

Green growth

Despite economic downturn, new environmental regulations and the increasing emphasis on the way resources are managed continue to open up opportunities for FMs. The Chancellor has committed £1bn to low carbon industries and announced a £435m programme to improve the energy efficiency of social housing, businesses and public buildings. These moves are likely to impact heavily on facilities management companies which will be tasked with seeing them through.

The green agenda has already started changing the required know-how of staff working in this field. Facilities managers are operating new green technologies such as wind, wave, solar and biofuels. They have responsibility for design and operation, energy procurement and management, building system optimisation, fleet management and managing biofuels. They are also involved in the procurement and management of waste management services, areas sensitive to the new regulations.

These changes clearly identify the need to continue to invest in the skills of the workforce. Raising skills is still a number one priority, especially during the downturn. And there is hard evidence why that should be so. Some reports show that employers who have continued to invest in staff development during past recessions have been 2.5 times more likely to survive than those who have not. They have also emerged stronger when the downturn ended.

www.assetskills.org/
www.actionfm.org/