Opening up FM: how moves towards new qualifications are gaining pace

By Karen Waterlow, Specialist Adviser Facilities Management & Cleaning Services Asset Skills

Asset Skills has been working to bring new blood in to facilities management.

This follows our Sector Skills Agreement, research that showed the industry needed to attract a younger workforce.

As part of this we've been trying to identify new routes in and consulting with employers, professional industry bodies and education providers to prepare National Occupational Standards (NOS).

These standards identify the components of a level three framework to enable the creation of qualifications like NVQs.

This NOS is the first framework to establish an entry level FM qualification and link to competence frameworks developed by the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM).

It is designed to help people to move across from specialist services into FM roles. The framework is flexible enough to cover all hard FM, soft FM and specialist roles at first line management level.

As the entry level for FM, the completion of level three NOS creates the first proper pathway into the industry, bridging the gap to the graduate and post-graduate equivalent levels four and five.

The standards cover a number of areas that relate to facilities management, including:

• general management skills and leadership
• client relationships
• service management
• safety and security including crisis and emergency management
• crisis management and contingency planning
• sustainability
• procurement
• change management
• operational performance management
• financial management

Assessing which of these units need to be optional and which should be mandatory is the next step for the NOS.

This next stage of development will be consultation with industry to ensure these standards reflect the skills that are needed and are in demand. The consultation is running via the Asset Skills website until mid-December and through the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM).

The completed NOS will enable potential education providers working with employers to develop new qualifications for the industry. For example, the framework will support and enable the recent memorandum of understanding between the BIFM and Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM).

The BIFM has been working closely with ILM and Asset Skills to develop a cohesive and integrated strategy which engages with employers. The new co-branded FM units will complement the recently announced Construction & Built Environment Diploma for 14-19 year olds. The latter starts in September 2008 and is expected to go a long way towards opening up the FM industry to younger people.