26 Jun 2014
Young adults don’t recognise facilities management as a career and many of them do not know anything about it, a new study reveals.
US real estate firm JLL says many people in the Millennial Generation – those who were born after 1980 and before 1998 – possess similar abilities and ambitions of FM professionals but only one in a hundred of students at the age are studying for a career in the sector.
The research reveals many people between the ages of 16 and 34 are working in the fields of architecture, engineering, maths, project management, science and technology, which all have close connections to FM.
Despite this just 43% of the 207 professionals and students JLL surveyed in March had heard of FM and even fewer know what FMs do.
The director of the Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) Group at JLL, Chris Pesek, says millenials like their voice to be heard, to be influential and innovative and make a difference. FMs want these things too, he adds.
Three quarters of the poll participants (76%) say people should take internships as it is the best way to make career decisions and decide whether FM is for them.
Copyright Press Association 2014