How Businesses can Reduce Barriers to Re-Entry to the Workforce for Over 50s or How to Reverse The Great Retirement

In the last 2 years, around 700,000 workers aged 50+ have left the jobs market. This is of particular significance to the FM sector as it has an aging workforce which has suffered from a loss of labour over the past 2 years due to Brexit, the pandemic, early retirement, and other factors. This means we have lost some of the expertise needed to productively bring the next generation of FM professionals into the sector. More experienced professionals are a boon to any sector as they can take on a mentoring role for young people who will do their work in the future.

2022 was a year of records for the recruitment industry, with vacancies hitting record highs in the summer and unemployment hitting record lows. The amount of people economically inactive rose too, as people left the workforce due to long term sickness and early retirement. The overall map of employment in the UK showed people moving much more between roles with employment figures maintaining high levels throughout the year, and we expect this to continue through 2023, despite some economic uncertainty.

300 North, the Facilities Management Recruitment Experts, are delighted to have been awarded a place on the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) RM6229 Permanent Recruitment 2 Framework – Lot 2: Non Clinical General Recruitment.

300 North was invited to the Facilities Show to discuss how recruiters could tackle skill gaps and shortages across the Facilities Management sector, how that would impact the industry going forward and what can be done to solve it. The panel, titled “Turbulent Times: FM’s Best Upskilling Opportunity?”, was chaired by Mark Whittaker (Chair, IWFM and General Manager, Thomson FM), and had Conrad Dinsmore (Head of Projects, CBRE), Sofie Hooper (Head of Policy, IWFM), Andrew Hulbert (Managing Director, Pareto FM) and Theresa Lamarque (Director of Strategic Partnerships, 300 North), as speakers.

For National Careers Week, we interviewed Mark Whittaker to spotlight FM careers and discuss how people are moving into and within the sector. The FM workforce comes from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, with many falling into the sector or not having clarity over the breadth of the opportunities available in it. In this interview we asked Mark about the jobs he’s had, his entry into the FM sector, his work with IWFM over the last 14 years, and how he thinks the sector has changed.

300 North are delighted to have a guest blog from Joanne Turrell at Uptree for National Apprenticeship Week to share how they are helping to bring young people into the workplace skilled and confident to start work. 

This National Apprenticeship Week, Uptree, the professional network championing diversity, inclusion and equality for all, discusses the benefits of entry-level apprenticeships for employers and the importance of widening participation.

It is clear for all to see that the recruitment market has been turned upside down over the past 2 years and candidate experience has changed significantly. The pandemic has caused people’s priorities to change sometimes drastically with individuals wanting to move roles but unsure of the current market. The recruitment market within FM has also gone through several changes. From locking down almost completely and only taking on critical staff in early 2020, to a more “buyer” led market where clients had their pick of candidates quickly looking for work, to now, where for the last several months job vacancies have been soaring and finding the right candidates has become much more challenging.

What is Company Branding?

Standing out to candidates is all about ensuring that your company is visible among many others when someone outside of the business or the FM sector is looking for a new role.

The benefits of AI and technological innovations in smart buildings, as well as the impact of COVID-19, is likely to push the FM sector to a global worth of £117 trillion by 2027 according to Fortune Business Insights. Smart buildings use technology to create a safer, healthier, more efficient, more cost-effective and more sustainable workplace that is more pleasant to work in. Workplace safety and environment are of paramount importance to facilities managers and can be greatly improved by the use of integrated software and hardware technologies, many of which can be used and monitored remotely.

If you’re looking to brighten up your home office while also enjoying a boost to your mood and productivity, adding some greenery to the mix is a great place to start. Jenny in the 300 North team has been something of a plant connoisseur for a while now, and working from home has given her the perfect opportunity to bring that passion into her new work environment.