The hard FM skills shortage: Exploring the challenges and opportunities

Article by Tom Copsey, Head of Recruitment, Atalian Servest.

The economic significance of hard facilities management (FM) in the UK cannot be understated.

The sector continues to be at the very heart of the country’s financial recovery from the pandemic period, the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI report registering an activity index of 66.3 in June 2021 – a 24-year high.

The monthly survey went on to highlight ‘house building’ as the best-performing category in July (indexed at 60.3), followed closely by ‘commercial building’ (59.2), showcasing the prosperity of hard FM specifically.

Indeed, this should come of little surprise. Much of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘Build Back Better: Our plan for growth’ efforts were focused on supporting growth through significant infrastructure investment.

Despite a positive output, hard FM is currently faced with a significant labour and skills shortage.

The sector comprises an ageing talent pool that will see the rate of retirement continue to accelerate, with estimates suggesting that 22% of the workforce are over 50 and 15% are in their 60s.

Resultantly, industry training body CITB has revealed that approximately 217,000 new construction workers will need to be recruited between 2021 and 2025 to support demand and overcome what can only be described as an extreme struggle for skills. Yet if such an ambitious goal is to be met, then significant industry reform is required.

Engagement and awareness

Critically, there is no silver magical solution that can solve the hard FM recruitment difficulties. It is the culmination of a variety of hurdles, from the lack of available apprenticeships and appeal for younger generations to awareness about opportunities and the impact of COVID-19.

However, there are several simple steps that can be taken to reduce the deficit and improve talent acquisition and retention, the first of these being the need to engage the next generation at an earlier phase.

It is widely known that FM isn’t considered to be as attractive as industries such as entertainment or tech. Therefore, a real emphasis needs to be placed on its strengths, such as the clear career paths available.

The current perception is that the sector simply entails manual labour and working with tools, when in reality new entrants can progress from being an engineering apprentice to a supervisor garnering a lucrative salary in as little as six years.

The hard FM sector offers fantastic career progression and development opportunities, and as an industry, we need to come together to better communicate this.

Highlighting career progression opportunities

It is not simply about raising awareness at a grassroots level, however. Equally, companies need to improve their own practices to support the career progression of their employees at various stages.

Several mergers and acquisitions have resulted in a sea change, with smaller firms replaced by larger PLC-size firms. This creates further opportunities, as firms are able to invest more time and money into offering local, hands-on apprenticeships.

However, these opportunities must be made accessible, our research shows it has become harder for young entrants to identify a clear pathway for both entry and career progression.

Moving forward, firms need to take greater responsibility in providing attractive opportunities and look through the lens of prospective apprentices in order to understand what such individuals might be looking for.

Becoming an employer of choice

This is not just an approach that is relevant to young people either.

What’s to say that people with established careers may not be looking for a career change, particularly given the uncertainty that the pandemic has created? Equally, what about current employees – what are FM providers doing to ensure that they retain their key talent?

Such questions need to be answered if the skills gap is to be bridged.

Indeed, hard FM firms must strive to become an employer of choice. Achieving such status might entail a combination of initiatives, from providing set career progression and development plans and investing in new equipment to support employees properly, to offering funds to support qualifications and addressing management practices to ensure people feel valued individually.

Working in a collaborative manner

That said, FM firms do not have to be alone in working to bridge the skills gap.

The government must also take greater leadership in supporting educational initiatives to ensure that the sector can continue to support the economy in the way that is needed. Grants, for example, could be used to make qualifications more accessible to those that aren’t currently able to afford them, removing some of the burden from smaller companies and their employees.

Other stakeholders are also able to support firms in a variety of ways.

At Atalian Servest, we are continually looking to improve our direct recruitment processes and agency supply chain management to ensure that we can attract the best talent that the hard FM sector has to offer. For 2022, our main goals are to streamline recruitment and onboarding processes further to ensure that candidates will benefit from a positive hiring experience and our hiring managers can increase their fill-rate on all job vacancies, while also placing a key focus on colleague retention and career development.

Without doubt, the pandemic has exacerbated the existing question mark over talent in hard FM. And, while the past two years have been plagued with uncertainty, they have also seen the establishment of hybrid working as the new normal provides workers with access to a far greater number of opportunities, with individuals now able to work in industries remotely from almost anywhere in the world.

Where FM is limited by geographies due to physical workloads, FM providers need to work to attract local talent effectively, now more than ever.