With fears of an ageing workforce and impending skills gap gripping the sector, The Building Futures Group (BFG) has launched a national campaign with the aim of attracting young people to the cleaning and facilities management sectors. This drive has the intention of inspiring more people to consider cleaning and facilities management as a long-term career option, showcasing the career progression opportunities and attractive salaries available.
Often referred to as the ‘secret sector’, worth at least £70billion per year to the economy, the campaign serves to highlight the detrimental effect the entire economy could experience without such vital services. Sarah Bentley, CEO of The BFG, explained: “Facilities management is a much-overlooked career option. Many people simply don’t understand what it entails. Good facilities managers are absolutely central to successful organisations, running the buildings and services they encompass.” Sarah added that cleaning has a reputation for being a low paid, low skilled job with few prospects. The ‘Secret Jobs’ campaign wants to dispel this myth and highlight how these booming sectors could be the answer to filling some of the estimated six million job vacancies expected to emerge across the UK in the next 10 years due to skills shortages.
She continued: “The BFG is passionate about raising awareness of the fruitful career opportunities available in our sector, and we are dedicated to reducing the number of people not in employment. That’s why we are working in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of our industries and the many opportunities they offer.” The initiative will see The BFG partner with Youth Employment UK to publish a bespoke careers guide designed for young people, by young people, which can be downloaded from The BFG’s website. Additionally, all 12,000 Job Centre Plus establishments across the UK will receive a special guide for their work coaches, which will highlight how their clients can benefit from careers at every level in facilities management and cleaning.
Steve Davies, Chair of The BFG, and Managing Director of Support Services for 14forty, said: “Our industry offers excellent opportunities to all young people from entry level to graduate; today’s young people will be tomorrow’s leaders, and FM companies invest in their people to help them develop and reach their potential. Young people can take advantage of these opportunities and have a long and fulfilling career in one of the most diverse and exciting industries in the UK.”
Christine Amyes, Board Director at The BFG and Executive Director of People at New Charter Group, added: “Creating opportunities for young people to kick start their careers is incredibly important, not just for the individuals but to businesses and the economy. There are great career opportunities in the FM sector and we want young people to know about them and be able to access them.”
In addition, The BFG is also working alongside leading FM and cleaning companies to raise the profile of the opportunities available for today’s youth. Laura-Jane Rawlings, CEO of Youth Employment UK (YEUK), said: “There are still 800,000 unemployed young people in the UK, and YEUK is pleased to see that industries like facilities management and cleaning are actively welcoming young people into their sectors through initiatives such as the Secret Jobs campaign. These are vital to ensure that young people can undertake rewarding work and be recognised for the diverse skills and talents that they bring to today’s agile work place.”
The Young Managers Forum (YMF), an organisation which provides a platform for young facilities management peers to come together, discuss ideas and champion initiatives that will help shape the industry’s future, will be hosting a Twitter Q&A and would like to invite any questions on the topic. Those wanting to get involved can track the progress of the campaign and join the conversation on Twitter using #SecretJobs.
