Happy World FM Day! To celebrate, we’re taking this whistle-stop tour through the first 24 years of the 21st century thus far - marking 24 years of WFM career development.
We’ll be updating this page with a new year each hour, but to start us off here’s the first ten years, 2001 to 2010.
For the purposes of this exercise, we're counting the year 2000 as the last of the 20th century (don’t Google it, but for some it's technically true).
We're also referring to the then British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) as the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) throughout, despite the switch to IWFM having only taken place in 2018. This is to ensure consistency for those with limited awareness of the institute’s history.
So, here we go, starting with the most recent year.
2023 and 2024
Doug Guy of Brunel University is another participant in the IWFM’s Level 6 Apprenticeship scheme. Here he explains what motivated him to take part – and how he's already using this new training to his advantage.
What was the attraction of this apprenticeship route to you?
“I was a member of the IWFM prior to this, and I’d brought Brunel University in as a corporate member too. Personally, I didn't have a degree as I hadn't gone to university when I was younger. Sure, I’d done some bits of IWFM training but I didn't have a recognised qualification FM.
“I’d got more than 25 years of experience, but doing this was putting the icing on the cake; it proves that I've got the knowledge and the skills, while I also learn new things as well.
What have you gotten out of it that you perhaps didn't expect?
“I learnt different things about planning - the Party Wall Act, for instance; and then about how you take strategy and understanding how you take your staff on a journey with you. Also, implementing a strategic review, and then looking at understanding risk and why you need to have proper risk management in place. So there were quite a lot of things that I've may not have totally been involved with previously, but now having done or been doing the degree it's allowed me access to it.”
Have you been able to put into practice some of that to change either your own way of working or projects you might put forward?
“It’s helped me manage staff performance in some aspects. And I've directly been involved in risk management and identifying our risks within our estates Department. I was also invited to be a member of the senior management team within estates, which I hadn't been before. So having this knowledge is also opening doors.
Do you have a plan of action as a result of doing the apprenticeship?
“My aim is to finish the apprenticeship and get to the end of it. And the next level is to progress, so we have succession planning at work so once I've completed all this, and we follow our succession plan, then that may be an opportunity to go up to directorship level.
Have you been speaking to other participants as you've gone along?
“Yes, with my fellow students we've often worked together and helped each other. And with some work issues I've got help or guidance from people that got more experience in those particular areas. And in return, I've also offered help to others that may need it.
What would you say to someone looking at the Level 6 apprenticeship from the outside?
“Make sure your employer understands what's expected of them. And make sure you understand how much commitment and time you will need to be able to achieve it, because it's not easy and you do need to put plenty of time into it.
“Also, you need to understand how to academically write. Try and learn how to do that if you've not done it before.”
2021 and 2022
It’s in 2022 that the IWFM’s Level 6 Apprenticeship starts. Today, students from the first cohort to have studied for this qualification have commented on the process. So here’s Marie Dolazelova, facilities assistant at the London School of Economics, detailing her experience of the apprenticeship thus far.
Why undertake this qualification now?
“This senior / head of FM Degree Apprenticeship is unique in the way it combines practical knowledge and skills as well as theoretical background. It approaches facilities from a holistic perspective. It takes the topic and looks at it from different aspects, not just health and safety, compliance, building structure, maintenance, but also leadership, strategic thinking, social responsibility, sustainability, supply chain.
“I believe we are living in exciting times as far as facilities is concerned as it is still area where you can progress without having a university degree, which is not usually the case in areas such as project management. However, that will not last for much longer, I suspect. Moreover, this is an area with high demand for skilled professionals and what makes a person stand out in job interviews is apart from practical knowledge and skills gained through an experience also a relevant university degree that is a proof of critical thinking and being able to apply practical and theoretical knowledge and up-to-date research into an everyday life.
What has most impressed you about what you've learnt?
“I have worked at a university setting for over twenty years and have a degree, though in an unrelated degree so I knew that it will not be an easy route.
“Apart from the knowledge we learnt from various modules, I have become much better at time management, prioritising when to do what, became more resilient to stress (for example when having to hand in several assignments in a short period of time).
“I have learnt to collaborate more with the colleagues from my cohort. I truly was surprised how collegial we have all become supporting each other on the way, asking each other even for professional advice. As we all come from various backgrounds - private sector, public sector - we were able to share the best practice and help each other out. Some of our colleagues arranged visits to their sites, for example Heathrow airport, Colchester prison and MIRA.”
How has going the apprenticeship route work for you?
“I believe in education, and I believe that to be good in any profession you must constantly learn and develop. So, for me being able to work and study in the same area is something I truly like, appreciate and am grateful for.”
What are your likely next steps?
“My wish is to continue working at LSE as I believe this institution offers amazing opportunities for further professional and personal growth and development, especially in the facilities area.”
2019 and 2020
As 2019 dawns, the world of workplace and facilities management continues to be rocked by the impact of Carillion and Interserve collapsing, the two outsourced service leviathans leading to concerns about other service contracts, especially those in the public sector.
In the skills arena, there is growing attention being placed on the importance to FM provision of social value, again with a particular focus on the public sector and contract terms. Social value has the potential to change the necessary skills sets of FM practitioners.
2020 turns out to be the most turbulent year in the sector’s history with the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changing the relationship between workers and their workplaces. It also changes how trainees get their training, with all courses forced online. The pandemic also has the effect of seeing the nascent use of online content platforms mainstreamed, with IWFM introducing its ‘Turbulent Times’ series of webinars as one good example.
2017 and 2018
This is the year that the IWFM academy was first introduced. Offering a range of short courses, the academy training allows for face-to-face, live virtual, or online learning formats. You can click here to see today’s list of IWFM Academy offerings.
This breadth of subject is indicative of a sector that, in 2017, was pondering what many felt as the constraints of the phrase ‘facilities management’. Not so much in terms of how it describes the function, but how it may not immediately encapsulate its ‘workplace’ component to a wider audience.
Accordingly, 2018 became the year in which a name change from British Institute of Facilities Management to Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management was comprehensively debated – and finally settled on. It was a decision that would help set the course for fresh IWFM activity and training in the years to follow.
2015 and 2016
As the world moves ever more into a digital-first existence, 2015 sees the IWFM Direct online learning portal introduced. The service is aimed at employers (who today can even customise the portal experience with their branding).
In recent times, IWFM Direct has been ported to a new Learning Management System (LMS) platform, where students can study for IWFM Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 qualifications.
In 2016, we see publication of ‘The Workplace Advantage’, a key report with IWFM involvement from the off. Amongst its suggestions is a ‘chief workplace officer’, a lead role into which IT, corporate real estate, Human Resources and facilities management feed. Many consider FM best placed to offer people who could fit the chief workplace officer role. The report’s focus on how emerging technology can help in a world of usage analysis and nascent smart buildings adds to a sense of further shifts in the skills requirements for WFM professionals.
2013 and 2014
As it’s lunchtime, let’s do two years at once.
Basking in a sense of the possible following FM’s involvement in various projects associated with the London Olympics, IWFM continues to develop with the 2013 introduction of its Level 3 qualification. The year also sees new Southern Ireland and Channel Islands regional groups introduced as institute members see the growing need to network.
It’s in 2014 that we then see the first publication of IWFM’s Professional Standards framework. This was the result of no little effort at the time, and the framework has since been regularly assessed to ensure it's ongoing fitness for purpose. Here's how this was reported at the time - and this is how the standards look here in 2024.
The standards form the basis of the world's most extensive FM professional development pathway, from entry level through to senior strategic roles.
2012
“FM is ideally placed to act as a role model to other departments in terms of setting patterns of behaviour”, we reported as the realisation of FM’s potential to affect so many aspects of workplace life - from energy consumption to space management - dawned on more and more people.
IWFM announces that it has surpassed 1,000 learner registers for qualifications, while 2012 is also when IWFM sets up a CPD scheme.
It’s also the year in which the IWFM Level 7 qualification is launched. And now, bringing this right up to date in 2024, Sheffield Hallam University has now launched a refreshed Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration and Facilities Management. The programme offers a dual award with IWFM’s Level 7 Diploma
SHU is the only recognised centre offering IWFM’s L7 qualification and is now looking to attract students for its September intake.
Back to 2012, where broad issues of equity, diversity and inclusivity continue to edge up the agenda. IWFM’s Women in FM runs its first conference. More than 150 people attend Channel 4’s London headquarters to take part.
2011
“FM is ideally placed to act as a role model to other departments in terms of setting patterns of behaviour”, we reported as the realisation of FM’s potential to affect so many aspects of workplace life - from energy consumption to space management - dawned on more and more people.
The sense of FM as a profession that has habitually undersold itself comes to the fore as questions about FM’s place in the boardroom are routinely discussed.
The year is also the tenth anniversary of the IWFM Impact Awards. Recognised for his overall industry impact, former IWFM chair Lionel Prodgers points out that FM is no longer about running a building. Rather, he says, today's businesses have social responsibilities which FMs must ensure are met. Forward-thinking FMs, he said, “now rub shoulders with town and regional planners as well as transport and land-use planners”.
2010
As the culmination of a project commenced in 2006 following publication of the Leith Review, IWFM introduced refreshed qualifications to replace its old Part 1 and Part 2 examinations. The new qualifications landscape now went from Level 2, aimed at 14-19 year olds, through Level 3 to six qualifications in facilities management, level 5 foundation degrees in FM and a Level 7 postgraduate qualification in FM. The institute also changed its membership grades to include a new CBIFM certified member grade.
2009
Mick Dalton, then of Emaar Properties and a former IWFM chair, responds to this title's question to readers about changes taking place in the sector by pointing out that "culture is essential to the changes taking place.s: "Patterns of migration and multiculturalism offer new ways of thinking of living, but challenges for FM. The diversity of FM's customer base and workforce is now an FM issue."
2008
This magazine publishes its 100th edition (we know, seems extraordinary, but back then it came out every fortnight in print). The pressure on competence demands for the average WFM were increasing routinely. This list showing the then legislative burden was published by way of example:
- Part 3 of The Disability Discrimination Act relating to provision of goods, facilities and services.
- The Civil Contingencies Act 2004, setting out business continuity and disaster recovery responsibilities for public bodies
- Provisions in the UK Companies 2006 Act related to business continuity and disaster recovery plans in the private sector
- The Building Regulations Part M 2004 with its accessibility responsibilities on building developers.
- The Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 2007 imposed health and safety duties on construction designers and contractors.
- The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2006 controlling the disposal and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006 put responsibilities on building owners and occupants to carry out risk assessments.
- The Health Act 2006 includes the ban on smoking in places of employment.
- The Site Waste Management Plans regulations 2008 calling on large construction project owners to prepare a site waste management plan.
- The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate homicide act 2007 meant that directors could be prosecuted where there has been a gross health and safety failing with Dakar consequences.
2007
Asset Skills, which is one of the 21 Sector Skills Councils established by the then Labour government to ‘establish and respond to learning needs’, has its bid for public money from the Learning and Skills Council and Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to establish a National Skills Academy for FM, rejected.
Incredibly, those involved in the bid cite ‘a lack of understanding by assessors as to what constitutes facilities management’ amongst the reasons for the rejection.
2006
A feature in FM World discusses whether the many people unconvinced as to the value of FM qualifications might soon be swayed by the ongoing drive to see greater recognition of FM as a profession?
Meanwhile, the Leitch Review into Britain’s future levels of competitiveness warns that by 2020 the FM sector will be amongst those compromised unless ‘the skills needs of employers are put centre-stage’.
One particular area identified as a key area for improvement is customer service training.
2005
IWFM’s first Pay & Prospects survey is published, finding that 63 per cent of 18-25 year olds working in the sector had no form of FM qualification. Only four per cent were degree qualified with eight per cent having a post-graduate qualification. The assessment of this situation was that, in all likelihood, ‘most people start their career and graduate in an unrelated field and eventually find their way into FM, qualifying that way.’ FM was not typically being taken up as an undergraduate course.
2004
This year sees this media source launch in the form of a magazine called FM World. As a more detailed news and features source, the title is another plank in IWFM’s member engagement strategy.
A feature in an early edition of the magazine reports that, in a study by the then Department of Trade and Industry, just 1.4 per cent of the quarter of FMs with a degree had an undergraduate qualification of either a BA or a BSc in facilities management. Only one in 70 practising FMs were estimated by the government body Asset Skills as being ‘professionally or academically qualified.
2003
A year that marks the tenth anniversary of IWFM and a sense of renewed commitment to developing the professional capabilities of its growing membership. A report on the institute's conference, held at Cambridge University, observes that, ten years on from the formation of the BIFM, the profession is no longer a fledgling profession.
2002
It’s in this year that IWFM launches its continual professional development scheme, as well as the associated use of post-nominals - two further developments in helping add substance to members’ qualification journeys.
2001
This year sees the Launch of a new BIFM Awards scheme. Set up to celebrate the best people and projects across the fast developing FM sector, the awards scheme is itself the successor to the ‘Office of the Year’ Award, first handed out in 1971 and an annual event from 1989.
The awards scheme helps to set a celebratory benchmark for performance in FM, putting a brighter spotlight on the need and value of skills and training.