Technical facilities managers with multi-site portfolio experience and facilities managers with stakeholder engagement skills are among the expertise most in demand in 2019, according to the latest Hays Job Report.

Released this week, the Hays Jobs Report covers the January to June 2019 half, revealing the skills in greatest demand in 31 sectors and industries.

According to the biannual report, the first half of 2019 will be active for facilities management recruitment, with the focus on securing professionals who can deliver greater value.

Market competition 

The report states employers are looking for FM candidates who can manage a larger portfolio or add additional value in some other way. This is the result of service providers needing to work harder to win work.

This competition for work has also seen salaries remain sluggish, with candidates responding by looking for a new opportunity offering a higher salary elsewhere. The resulting increase in turnover is fuelling vacancy activity and creating hotspots of skills in demand.

According to the recruitment firm, demand will be high for technical project managers with an engineering, construction or architecture background who can work in a range of sectors.

Technical HSE professionals, village managers and buildings and project managers with a construction or local government background will also be sought.

The report also states the industry is seeing demand in the public sector for senior facilities managers with a commercial background or private sector experience who can drive efficiencies. Technical facilities managers with multi-site portfolio experience is another area of demand.

Green focus 

As a whole, the industry is looking to save costs, improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact.

Contracts now often contain sustainability or environmental targets and therefore employers increasingly request facilities managers who understand and can work towards achieving such targets, according to Hays.

Similarly, facilities managers who are strong innovators and can come up with cost effective solutions to reduce a building’s carbon footprint are also sought.

Technically-minded facilities coordinators who can coordinate a large portfolio or busy office space and effectively communicate and follow-up with people are needed.

Facilities coordinators with a soft services background or healthcare experience are also sought.

Growth in the healthcare, education and aged care sectors is fuelling demand for candidates with strong technical skills in these areas.

Soft services and standards 

Turning to soft services, professionals in security, cleaning, helpdesk and catering are increasingly sought.

According to the job report, most vacancies are at the officer level, with mid and upper management opportunities available too.

Cleaning estimators are another area of supply shortage since people often perform this function as part of another role rather than in a standalone capacity.

In terms of soft skills, stakeholder engagement is increasingly requested in order to engage people during a process of change.

According to Facilities Management Association (FMA) CEO Nicholas Burt, ISO 41000, the fourth standard for FM published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in April 2018, will also have a significant impact on how FM services are measured.

“The association will work with organisations to provide an understanding of ISO 41000, which will have an impact on how competency and the ability to deliver quality facilities management services are measured. This will, in turn, affect the skills and attributes employers and client organisations look for in facilities management professionals.”

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