The future is female in Facilities Management

According to the most recent Facilities Management Industry Census from the Facilities Management Association of Australia (FMA), approximately 28% of the industry workforce currently is female. Since the inception of the Census in 2012, these latest findings demonstrate a significant improvement in gender diversity in the industry, growing from 19% just 5 years ago.

Typically, a male-dominated industry, the Census allows us to see a growing number of women are beginning careers in facilities management. At ESM, we believe our people are the cornerstone of our business success, and this improvement in the diversity of our workforce is a welcome change. At its core, the facilities management industry is about people. Through our work, we are in a position to significantly affect the health and wellbeing of the residents, students, guests or staff in the facilities we manage for the better. A more diverse workforce can only strengthen our ability to properly understand an increasingly diverse population and their changing needs. By supporting and encouraging the introduction of more women into the facilities management workplace, we believe ESM, and the industry as a whole, will benefit from a greater diversity of insights and opinions. We expect to see continued growth in the industry as our clients, who are also gender diverse, note the progress and improvements in our service offerings.

The Census also shows an encouraging trend towards a younger and more diverse workforce in the industry. Of the 420 people across Australian and New Zealand who participated in the Census this year, 38% of the workforce are currently under 40 years of age. According to the Chief Executive of the FMA Nicholas Burt, “The access to the data captured through this year’s Census will allow the Association to map a five year trend in some important areas.”
The statistics demonstrate the industry is changing, and this improvement in workforce diversity will attract a wider range of expertise and talent.
Other key figures from the Census
 

Portfolios

• Portfolios of five buildings or less are becoming less common, down from 42.1% to 38% from 2015 – 2017
• The greatest growth was seen in portfolios between 21 – 100 buildings, up from 29.8% to 34.3% from 2015 – 2017
 

Education

• The highest level of education among the surveyed workforce was Diploma level with 31% of employees holding this qualification
• The number of employees holding this level of qualification has increased from 26.5% to 39.9% from 2016 – 2017
• Bachelor degree level education among the workforce has fallen from 50% to 42.9% over the same period