FACILITIES MANAGEMENT JOURNAL JOBS
FM CAREERS - CAREER LADDER
FM is known to be a career that people fall into
from other sectors. In this regular column, FMJ
chats to a facilities professional about how they
got into the sector and takes a look at their
career path. This month we talk to Jill Wood,
Managing Director, Signum Facilities Management
What was you first job in the
FM sector?
Facilities Manager for Doncaster
Primary Care Trust.
What made you choose FM as
a career?
I didn’t! It chose me really. I had been
working in the NHS for a number
of years mainly in Governance and
Performance when an opportunity
came up for a six month secondment
as Facilities Manager for the first
tranche of PFI health centres in
the area, it sounded interesting so
I applied and was successful. Six
months soon turned into years. I
quickly realised that no two days are
the same and I was hooked!
How did you progress through
the profession to your current role?
Hard work, a questioning mind and
determination! I stayed in the NHS
for a number of years and then
government restructures abolished
primary care trusts and premises
management was centralised to NHS
Property Services.
I came across an opportunity to move
into a small local business to work as
Facilities Director and took the plunge,
unfortunately the company didn’t
survive, and I found myself facing a
situation of unemployment. A mentor
at the time told me that if I didn’t try
to continue in the commercial sector
by setting up a business, I would kick
myself in years to come and seven
years later we are still growing and I’m
still learning.
Do you have any qualifications
or training in FM and related areas
such as health and safety? And how
have you benefited from them?
I have a NEBOSH qualification and
took a BIFM course in understanding
facilities management in my early
career.
What is your greatest
contribution to the FM sector, or
your current role?
I’m Vice President of Doncaster
Chamber of Commerce and I hope
that this reinforces the message that
women can succeed and contribute
too in a typically male dominated
environment.
What’s changed most since you
started in FM?
The number of women has definitely
increased but it still feels like a ‘men
in grey suit’ industry, flexible working
patterns has significantly helped but
there is still more we can do to attract
women into the industry at all levels.
What personal qualities do
you think are most needed for a
successful career in FM?
Communication skills are key, you
have to be able to listen as much as
converse in the tone of your customers
and colleagues. You also need to have
passion to want to make a di erence,
the FM business is about delivering
that first-class service that lets your
clients succeed in their own.
Name: Jill Wood
Current role:
Managing Director, Signum
Facilities Management Ltd
Born: Pontefract
Lives: Doncaster
If you could do one thing
di erently in your career in FM,
what would it be?
Start earlier! I’ve enjoyed working
in the industry I think there are
probably experiences I have missed
out that would make me a stronger
professional than I am today.
What would make the biggest
di erence to the FM sector? And
how could that be achieved?
Promotion of the career opportunities
available in the FM industry.
Careers advice is still typically
centered around academic pathways
and we, as businesses in Doncaster,
have the chance to work closely with
primary and secondary schools to
share our career choices, this needs to
be replicated nationwide.
We have a duty to act as ambassadors
and to develop our industry
professionals of the future.
Are you a member of any FM
association or body and if so what
benefits do you think they provide?
No, I’m not a member but I do think
that professional bodies can o er a lot
of support.
What advice would you give
to young people coming into the
profession now?
Listen and learn, there are fantastic
learning opportunities around now
from apprenticeships and degrees, but
the knowledge gained from peers is
invaluable.
What are your long-term goals
for the next seven to ten years?
This is a great question – and the
honest answer is we haven’t set the
plan that far in front, I would like
to think that by year 10 I will have a
successor in place so that I can focus
more on other projects but then again
10 years ago I still expected to be
working in the NHS!
What do you predict could be
the main changes to the FM sector
over the next few years?
Technology will have a huge impact on
the way we work, from smart building
data to service delivery workflow, we
are all striving to move away from
paper-based systems.
Skills will also be huge and no one can
predict the impact that Brexit will have
on our workforce.
What are the greatest
challenges of working in FM?
Finding good people – there is
definitely a skills shortage, across all
industries but particularly engineering
sta , this will be one of our biggest
challenges to growth in FM of the
future.
The cost v quality debate too, for
some sectors it is still incredibly hard
to building the loyalty as increased
austerity takes over.
What do you enjoy most about
working in FM?
Learning about our client’s businesses
and how our services impacts
positively on them.
Would you, or someone you know, like to be featured in our career ladder column? If you’re an operational
FM with more than 10 years’ experience in the sector, then email sara.bean@kpmmedia.co.uk
54 AUGUST 2019
link