Yesterday was World FM Day, which effectively marks the week in which facilities management companies and key players all over the globe connect to celebrate the profession, look back at its achievements and plan for the future. I couldn’t help wondering, upon learning of this year’s theme: ‘Resilience in Action: Thriving in a World of Change’, just how many of the individuals involved really do feel they’re thriving, or whether perhaps they breathe a sigh of relief at the end of the working day that they’ve managed to hold everything together – not only in terms of the facilities and teams for which they’re responsible, but personally too. I don’t feel that those in the profession are held in anything like high enough regard by those outside the industry who have absolutely no idea just how much it takes to make our built environment function in the way it should, whilst keeping everyone safe, healthy and content. ‘Resilience in Action’? They need bundles of it! 

  

But however much they have, it’s not a bottomless pit when it comes to the resources available to them, and while a bottomless pit may not be required when everything’s running smoothly, a sudden change in circumstances can so easily make everything fall apart, (think energy supply issues, cyber-attacks that can suddenly throw everything into turmoil, changing parameters and legislation, the drive towards ever greater sustainability, political upheaval, industrial action or a bug or virus decimating the team etc.). 

  

In the UK we’ve suffered from staffing issues for some years. We have more than enough people here but not the infrastructure to support them nor the right people for the jobs that need doing to build that infrastructure or keep what we already have, afloat. They’re either unqualified or unwilling. When it comes to training there’s a lack of funding and when candidates have finished training and require accreditation, they can’t always progress because of a shortage of assessors and a backlog at test centres. In recent years we’ve lost many of those who were providing building services, but recruiting cleaners has always been difficult and luckily that part of the industry has historically been well supported by our migrant population - willing and happy to clean, when many ‘born and bred’ Brits won’t. 

  

I hadn’t got my head around my Government thinking it’s ok to lay waste to acres and acres of prime land to accommodate solar farms while investing heavily in geo-engineering to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth. Then I heard its leader’s announcement on migration… I won’t go on as I need to put my head in my hands, but if you read Tommy Taylor’s Soapbox below, you’ll know what I’m thinking right now. Well – with regard to cleaning, anyway.