By Brady George, managing director of facilities management business Almeda.
All successful business leaders know that without great people it is difficult to have a great business. Which is why management and leadership are firmly on the agenda for businesses operating in the facilities management and the wider property sector.
It has to be, because in our business alone we are seeing a definite skills gap and it’s vital that we start to unearth, train and build the leaders of the future. 
And we need to do this by identifying and nurturing talent coming through the sector; by being pro-active and taking the issue by the scruff of the neck.
Leaders’ forum
Interestingly the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) have recently launched a Leaders’ Forum that took place in London – where businesses met to discuss the skills shortage affecting our sector.
It’s good to see that it is an issue being tackled at the highest level because we are seeing a massive shortage of technical facilities managers and this is something that has affected Almeda.
One problem is lack of exposure to relevant experience. Managers go through BIFM training but they also need to learn on the job.
Aptitude and character
We hire people based on aptitude and character, and how this aligns with Almeda, not their skill set. Our employees then undergo internal training, something we push really hard, to learn the technical skills needed. This gives us a higher calibre of candidates and helps reduce the skills gap.
We have also implemented a £50,000 training budget to deliver world class training through Cranfield University’s Management Development Centre for senior members of staff.
And last year we launched a graduate scheme and we are now keen to launch a similar scheme with apprenticeships in the near future.
In-house training plans
I believe the onus is on business owners to take the lead and develop in-house training plans, to help solve the skills crisis and give hope to the industry and people.
Many companies who don’t have the resources to train in-house will overlook candidates with potential in favour of top tier facilities managers, creating a skills divide. This is also driving up the average salary, making it harder for SMEs to compete with bigger firms in the industry.
Funding would also be a good incentive but, ultimately, it is down to the business themselves to create training opportunities, and this needs to start from the bottom-up.
Nothing ever got done by waiting for a hand-out or subsidy – that is the harsh reality.
