Gender diversity is key to business success. Post pandemic, gender equity seems to be in danger of becoming less of a priority for many businesses as they establish “what matters most when everything matters”. In 2019, 18% of senior vice president roles and 19% of vice president roles were filled by women. 4 years later, this has dropped to 14% and 16% respectively. Senior women are leaving high positions at an accelerating rate.

Demand for skilled FM professionals is only increasing in the first quarter of 2023. Many companies have unfilled vacancies and finding the best talent to fill crucial roles is a constant challenge. There has also long been a skills crisis in the sector, which, as has been much discussed, has been compounded by experienced professionals leaving the sector over the last 7 years due to Brexit, the pandemic and retirement.

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.

At the start of June, 300 North attended the annual IWFM Conference. This year’s focus was on the theme “Agents of Change”. We were delighted to attend to meet many of our colleagues in person again, and to see the keynotes and guest speakers who promoted the good in the profession and the way organisations in the sector can move to push FM forwards to meet our various goals and targets on sustainability, the future of work, and innovation, amongst other things.

This Learning at Work Week we spoke to our 3 Kickstart trainees about how they have found working alongside external study. Josh and Kieran are our most recent recruits from the Kickstart programme and each have a couple of months left to complete their courses. Joe on the other hand recently finished his 6 months of Kickstart learning with us and decided to stay on with 300 North and take on further learning to attain a Foundation Certificate in Accounting.

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.

Prior to 300 North, I worked as an Internal recruiter in FM and Logistics and built up a recruitment department from scratch. At 300 North I’m a Talent Resourcer specialising in FM – Hard Services & M&E. I work alongside Joe and Jack to recruit Engineers, Administrators, Team Leaders, Supervisors and Managers in Electrical, Gas and Air Conditioning.

Tell Us About Your Professional Background

My first real paid job was when I was 17 and worked as an Administrator whilst going to night school to study Law. I'll never forget how I could get the bus directly to the office from home for 19p each way! From there I worked in criminal law, moved into being a qualified person-centred counsellor, and then I found my way into recruitment and have never looked back!

What Do You Like Doing In Your Spare Time?

I love visiting family over tea and cake and catching up with friends at a bottomless brunch! I do like to have ‘me’ time too and enjoy mindful thinking and I meditate daily. I'm involved in raising money for charities, in particular mental health which is very close to my heart. I help run a modified car club and raise money for the charity MIND, taking part in car shows.

What's Your Favourite Sport?

Motorsport! Especially attending Santa Pod Raceway for the European Drag Racing, followed by Stock car racing at Bradford. I love the adrenalin, noise and weirdly the smell.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Baking Christmas Cakes!

 As part of our diversity and inclusion strategy, 300 North have partnered with accessibility forward company Recite Me in order to allow equitable access to our website.

2022 is shaping up to be another interesting year in recruitment for the FM sector. After the uncertainty of the last two years, many are hoping that 2022 will hold more stability for the market and that markets will move back into the growth phase after a period of re-stabilisation. At 300 North we have seen a general upturn in applications and expressions of interest in roles, as well as market data showing an increase in registrations to job boards in the last few months. This increase from people wishing to change roles will need to continue for some time before the candidate deficit is resolved and there are as many people looking for jobs as there are vacant positions, but it shows a move towards more normal levels.