Apprenticeships in FM – What’s Available?

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22 October 2021

As new research suggests ambitious job creation targets in the green and clean sector could transform prospects for young people - what apprenticeship opportunities are currently available in FM?

“Better Future: Transforming jobs and skills for young people post-pandemic”, research commissioned from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on behalf of Youth Futures Foundation and the Blagrave Trust, predicts opportunities for young people to transition from existing jobs to “green” roles.

This includes workers from the construction sector trades such as home retrofitting and low-carbon heat.

Philippa Knott Kos, Policy Manager, the Blagrave Trust, says that the contributions of young people will be key to recovering from the uncertainty and insecurity of the pandemic.

 

“The J.E.E.P. initiative works towards a future where the ‘oily rags and no prospects’ perception of FM technical careers and apprenticeships is a distant memory. In reality graduate apprentices are earning between £26,000 and £30,000 just a year after qualifying – usually before they’re 20 years old – and they have no debt.” 

–Adam Baker

Director, ABM UK

 

Engineering - Addressing the Skills Shortage

 

According to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), there is currently a particular shortage of m&e engineers, pipefitters, plumbers, and service technicians.

To address this, facilities solutions provider ABM has launched year four of its Junior Engineering Engagement Programme (J.E.E.P.) following a yearlong postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The J.E.E.P aims to tackle misperceptions of the facilities management (FM) industry amongst young people and their parents and create a pipeline of future technical talent. It has had over 450 graduates from 23 schools since 2017.  

Supported by independent education charity The Talent Foundry, the J.E.E.P. introduces year seven students, aged between 11 and 12, to the world of engineering and FM, bringing apprenticeships to their attention as a valid path to success before they choose their GCSE subjects.   

ABM UK director, Adam Baker, says: “Having gained such fantastic momentum with the first three years of the programme, it was incredibly disappointing to have to postpone year four. With young people now back in schools, we can’t wait to welcome our newest cohort to the programme and continue the important work of inspiring the next generation of technical talent. 

“The J.E.E.P. initiative works towards a future where the ‘oily rags and no prospects’ perception of FM technical careers and apprenticeships is a distant memory. In reality graduate apprentices are earning between £26,000 and £30,000 just a year after qualifying – usually before they’re 20 years old – and they have no debt.” 

Evaluated annually through the use of surveys for all stakeholders, including students, teachers, and volunteers, the J.E.E.P.’s latest results show a 20 per cent increase in student understanding of apprenticeships and a 19 per cent increase in young people seeing apprenticeships as something exciting. When asked for feedback on the success of the programme, a hundred per cent of teachers agreed that their students were more interested in learning skills in STEM following their involvement in J.E.E.P.  

The J.E.E.P. gives students a guided introduction to core FM subjects, such as electricity, lighting and safety, through three classroom sessions. ABM team members attend each session to represent the industry, answer student questions and work with the young people on planned experiments and activities.    

During the course, there is a theme of sustainability which is discussed throughout the sessions to build up to the students' final presentation in the final session. The final presentation is where the students will show their peers, teachers and guests from ABM a project they have created with the aim to make their school eco-friendly and sustainable.   

For more information on the programme, visit www.jeep-abm.org.    

 

Chartwells Commits to Apprenticeship Drive

 

Chartwells, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, has committed to delivering 200 apprenticeships over the coming year.

The programmes provide a clear progression roadmap, from Level 2 all the way to Level 7, across a number of competencies, including: Culinary; Front of House Hospitality; Front of House Retail; HR and Learning and Development; Cleaning and Facilities Management; Accountancy; Business; Supply Chain; and Digital and Technology.

Charlie Brown, Managing Director, Chartwells, said: “There is a misconception that apprenticeships are solely for young people looking for entry level roles – this is absolutely not the case. We offer a range of different apprenticeship levels throughout the business, across a diverse range of functions, that are suitable for those of all ages, experience and backgrounds.

 

Picture: a photograph of two school children collecting their cooked school lunches

 

“This commitment demonstrates our intent in this area, but it is very much the start of an ambitious period for the company as we look to evolve and develop our team and services to meet the changing demands of our clients, customers and the market.”

A number of successful candidates have already been through Chartwells’ Apprenticeship scheme, including Gemma Burnett, who has recently completed the Level 3 Team Leader qualification and is now embarking on her level 5 Operational Manager qualification. She said: “The initiative really has been transformative. Truth be told, when I first heard about apprenticeships I too had misconceptions about whether they were solely for entry-level learners, but that could not be further from the truth. I would wholeheartedly urge more people to explore the opportunities that exist within apprenticeships.”

 

Data Apprenticeships from Travis Perkins

 

Travis Perkins plc has launched two new data apprenticeships, including a data fellowship and an advanced data fellowship. 

These apprenticeships have been launched to improve colleagues’ data and analytical skills and understanding, and will cover areas, such as using data for effective decision making, best practice learning, to support collaboration and the development of value-added services and activities. 

In addition to providing technical training for Python and SQL programming, the schemes will provide insight into how to understand data quality and manage projects, as well as data ethics, visual analytics, predictive modelling and data security. 

The first cohort of 40 colleagues from across the Group, ranging from commercial and finance to marketing and supply chain, has already enrolled on the programme, and there are plans to launch two further courses in the new year to focus on data literacy for leaders and ensure data skills are accessible to all.

"Data is already a key enabler for the modern construction industry and it is only going to become even more essential as we face into the opportunities around things like product provenance and sustainability alongside the ongoing need to better understand our customers.

"By upskilling colleagues, we aim to improve data literacy and analytical skills enabling our colleagues to unlock insight from our data so that they can make better-informed decisions,” explained CITO for Travis Perkins, Phil Tenney.

"Rob Barbour, our Data and Insights Director, has done a fantastic job working with the team from Multiverse to shape a set of new data apprenticeships. These are a fantastic addition to our comprehensive suite of 40+ apprenticeship programmes, and from a talent management perspective, we will use this scheme to grow and develop our own pipeline of colleagues who have data skills fit for the future,”  Phil continued.

Training will be delivered by Multiverse, a quality apprenticeship programme provider that recently was rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Picture: a photograph of some ABM apprentices, all wearing hard hats and high-vis jackets

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 22 October 2021

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