03 May 2013
The facilities management sector has pledged to help thousands of young people secure work placements in the industry over the next two years.
This week facilities managers said they would help secure 10,020 apprenticeships and 11,192 Work Inspiration placements by 2015 as part of an effort to tackle youth unemployment in the UK.
FMs met at the FM Big Convention at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to discuss how the industry can create new career opportunities for young people.
Richard Sykes, CEO of ISS UK and Ireland and host of the event, told Workplace Law: “This is one of the first times businesses in our sector have held hands, placed our competitiveness to one side and taken decisive action to demonstrate the positive impact facilities management can have in the UK economy.”
He said the FM industry is “ideally suited” to bridge the gap between education and the workplace, with a “multitude” of career paths that can be followed.
This week the Labour Party said UK youth unemployment has “gone through the roof”, claiming the number of 18 to 24 year-olds out of work for over a year had jumped from 25,800 in April 2010 to over 73,500.
Copyright Press Association 2013