Job market information
Finding out about facilities management
The facilities management industry is part of the housing, property and planning, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, which is represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce has continued to grow since 1998 and represents 3% of the total UK workforce.
The facilities management industry covers all types of management of services which includes: ‘hard’ services, such as property and estates management, building maintenance, energy management, environmental protection; and ‘soft’ services, such as cleaning, security, reception and customer care. The lack of understanding around facilities management roles makes both career pathways and qualification structures difficult to define. However, progression routes continue to be developed and there is now a range of work‐based qualifications allowing candidates to study from level 3 upwards.
Key facts:
- The UK market for facilities management contracts is estimated to be between £10‐173 billion per year.
- There are 136,900 people working in the facilities management industry in 14,400 companies.
- 91% of all facilities management organisations have 10 or less employees.
- Facilities management is seen as a relatively new sector and companies seem positive with 74% expecting to grow.
Jobs in the industry include: assistant facilities coordinator; facilities manager; support services manager (such as cleaning, catering or security); building maintenance personnel; and emerging jobs such as environmental management, sustainability in response to legislation and changes to building design and risk management.
Entry and progression
For entry into Facilities Manager posts, a first degree in facilities management or a related subject is preferred. However with relevant experience, there are opportunities for entry without formal qualifications. For junior positions, there are no specific entry requirements. Many entrants come from specific industry roles in cleaning, catering and security, which are separate disciplines that make up facilities management.
Facilities management companies are looking for entrants with a strong commitment to customer services, good negotiating skills and the capacity to manage separate types of technical services within an overall facilities management contract.
There are a range of industry endorsed courses, apprenticeships and training schemes for those wishing to enter the industry or change career. There are opportunities to progress into senior roles or specialisms.
A typical career path in the industry would be from:
- support service manager (such as cleaning) ‐> assistant facilities manager ‐> facilities manager ‐> area manager.
The most common form of career change is when a specialist (e.g. caterer or cleaning supervisor) moves into a wider more generic facilities management role. The development of customer service skills is normally required to progress within facilities management as are generic communication and people management skills.
For job specific entry requirements, take a look at our job profiles.
Workforce statistics
| Number of UK employees: |
136,900 |
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| Number of UK employers: |
14,400 |
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| Gender: |
58% male |
42% female |
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| Age: |
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| 6% of the workforce is aged 16‐24 years |
| 22% 25‐34 years |
| 21% 35‐44 years |
| 25% 45‐54 years |
| 27% 55 years and over |
| Disability: |
12% of the workforce report having a disability. |
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| Education: |
28% of the workforce has attained a below NVQ level 2 qualification, 13% NVQ level 2 and 60% NVQ level 3 and above. |
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[N.B. Data derived from Annual Population Survey, 2008.]
Employment trends and future prospects
Facilities management is seen as a relatively new industry. Employment forecasts before the economic downturn suggested a 122% growth in employment levels between 2004 and 2014. Since then annual growth rates for the industry are estimated to have slowed from 5% in 2006 to 2% in 2008. Cutbacks have been seen in services like landscaping, refitting and refurbishment. However, the industry has remained relatively stable through government spending on schools, hospitals and prisons. Stronger growth in the industry is predicted from 2011 onwards.
Skill requirements and shortages
Skills shortages within the industry include: technical and practical skills; softer facilities management skills, such as people and client relationship management; strategic skills; communications skills; wider knowledge of health and safety; development of energy management skills; and IT skills.
Some skills are transferable between hard and soft services and often someone would enter being responsible for either hard or soft services, whilst more senior staff would have responsibility for both. The desire for more commercial, business‐orientated skills is being driven by a number of factors, including increasing competition and changing client requirements.
Occupational trends
No data on occupational trends are available.
National and regional data
The following provides a breakdown of the number of facilities management sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.
| East Midlands |
5,900 |
The East Midlands employs 5% of the facilities management workforce. A significant proportion of the workforce is employed on a part‐time basis (62%) |
| East Of England |
11,500 |
The East of England employs 5% of the facilities management workforce, with employment evenly distributed between full‐ and part‐time work |
| London |
29,900 |
London is the largest employer of the facilities management sector in England (26%). A high proportion (76%) of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis and the majority (74%) is male |
| North East |
3,100 |
The region has 3% of the facilities management workforce, with the majority aged 25‐54 (94%) |
| North West |
12,700 |
The North West region employs 11% of the facilities management sector. The majority of the workforce (85%) is aged between 25‐54 |
| South East |
15,500 |
The South East employs 13% of the facilities management workforce. A significant proportion of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (76%), with men making up 62% of employees |
| South West |
11,200 |
The South West region employs 10% of the facilities management sector. A significant proportion of the workforce is aged over 55 (42%) |
| West Midlands |
10,000 |
The West Midlands has a high proportion of its workforce employed on a full‐time basis (85%). The majority of the workforce is aged 25 and over |
| Yorkshire & The Humber |
15,100 |
Identical to the South East, the Yorkshire and the Humber region employs 13% of the facilities management workforce. This region accounts for the highest proportion of full‐time employment (91%). |
| Scotland |
19,200 |
Scotland employs 14% of the facilities management sector workforce across the UK. The majority of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (75%), is aged 25‐54 (81%) and is female (64%) |
| Wales |
2,800 |
Wales employs 2% of the facilities management sector workforce across the UK. The majority of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (83%), is aged 25‐54 (70%) and is male (77%) |
| Northern Ireland |
* |
|
Source: Annual Business Inquiry, 2008
* Due to a low sample size, information on the number of employees and characteristics of the facilities management sector in Northern Ireland has been excluded.
Salary levels
Some suggested salary ranges for those working in the industry include:
- Assistant Facilities Manager £20,000 plus
- Facilities Managers £26,000 ‐ £50,000
- Director £50,000 plus
Career paths
Further sources
Produced Sept 2010, using Asset Skills AACS LMI report (Jun 2010)
