29 October 2008
The FM sector’s bid to create a National Academy for facilities and waste management has been turned down for a second time by the Learning and Skills Council.
Asset Skills, the sector skills council for the places in which we live and work, which led the bid, said it was a close fifth for the four places available and was very well received.
“Although the decision was a disappointment, feedback from stakeholders and employers has encouraged us to believe that the door is certainly not closed on the idea of an academy for our sector” said Karen Waterlow, Asset Skills’ specialist adviser for FM and cleaning. “There is still a substantial level of interest, particularly from employers, in developing an academy model. There are certainly opportunities to develop an academy to meet the needs of the sector which can then become part of the National Academy system at a future date – some of the academy bids which have been successful this time round followed that route.”
The unsuccessful bid was backed by Veolia, the parent company of Dalkia, as well as receiving endorsement from major service providers including Carillion, OCS, Mitie, LS Trillium, Kier, Interserve, Rentokil Initial, Johnson Controls and SGP Property and Facilities Group.
Skills academies have been created to solve skills shortages in their respective sectors, enabling employers, government and other stakeholders to design more effective solutions to training needs.
The FM sector lost out to the IT, social care, power and enterprise bids.
There are now 16 approved National Skills Academies, including construction, creative and cultural; retail and hospitality. The government aims to have an academy in each major sector by the end of 2011.
The FM sector was turned down for a national skills academy in November 2006 because the submission, encompassing FM, property, housing and cleaning, was too broad.
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