Youth talent campaign launched for FM sector

The Building Futures Group has launched a national campaign with the aim of attracting young people to the cleaning and facilities management sectors.

The drive is aiming to inspire more people to consider cleaning and facilities management as a long-term career option, showcasing the career progression opportunities and attractive salaries available.

Sarah Bentley, CEO of The Building Futures Group, 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.”

Bentley 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.

The initiative will see The Building Futures Group partner with Youth Employment UK to publish a bespoke careers guide designed for young people by young people which can be downloaded from The Building Futures Group website. Additionally, all 12,000 Job Centre Plus establishments across the UK will receive a special guide for their work coaches. The work coaches guide will highlight how their clients can benefit from careers at every level in facilities management and cleaning.

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, will be hosting a Twitter Q&A. Those wanting to get involved can track the progress of the campaign and join the conversation on Twitter using #SecretJobs.