How To Become A Facilities Manager in Ireland

Facilities management is a diverse and interesting career which is ideal for people who enjoy putting their organisational skills and excellent attention to detail to good use. 

As a facilities manager, you will be in charge of the maintenance and operation of building systems under your management. Find out more about the role of a facilities manager and how you can train to become a facilities manager in Ireland.

A facilities manager’s role is to ensure that buildings are safe, clean and properly maintained. They ensure the health and safety of the building’s occupants, visitors and the general public, and play a vital role in all sectors where properties need to be managed. 

Alongside health and safety concerns, facilities managers also have to ensure that other operational services are running smoothly. This includes coordinating with and contacting contractors for a range of tasks from building maintenance to catering, helping encourage sustainability in the working environment, space planning, budgeting and strategic planning.

Some of the key responsibilities of a facilities manager include:

This job is a rewarding and exciting one that carries a lot of responsibility. If you are passionate about having an influence on facilities maintenance and services and ensuring that the safety of all is paramount in Ireland, whether you are in Cork or Limerick, then facilities management could be the career path for you. There are plenty of positions available in the public sector and private sector, so the job market is always open to new facilities managers.

Facilities managers in Ireland and elsewhere will need to have some experience and qualifications in order to secure this job role. 

Relevant qualifications can include a bachelor’s degree in a relevant area such as a BSc in Facilities and Workplace Management, a BSc in Building Services Management or a related field, a property management or construction-related degree or a business related degree. 

Other key qualifications include Level 2-8 accredited qualifications by the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) or the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Ireland. These qualifications are accredited by recognised awarding bodies and are therefore highly regarded among Irish employers. 

You can study an accredited course in facilities management or a related area by studying Management courses online. There are a range of management courses such as risk management, safety management, asset management and senior management as well as specific courses for facilities managers. These are fantastic for aspiring facilities managers as well as for continuous improvement for those already working in the field.

There are a variety of online courses that you can study flexibly, full-time or part-time, and they are delivered by recognised training providers who are experts in their field. Upon completion of all modules and assessments, you will have the qualifications to demonstrate your skills and knowledge in this area, whether you take dedicated facilities management courses online or a general management course, which is also highly useful for this managerial role. 

There are several skills that a successful facilities manager in Ireland needs, including:

Whether you have a competencies toolkit under your belt already or you need to develop these key skills, you can do so by studying a management course online. Honing these skills is going to make a huge difference in your career and ensure that you have the ability and confidence to become a successful facilities manager. 

Having some relevant experience is definitely favourable and will ensure that you are in good stead to find a job as a facilities manager. However, if you have solid qualifications, then you might not necessarily need work experience relevant to the role. 

Most employers will expect a facilities manager to have some experience, even if not directly related to facilities, in a supervisory or managerial role. Therefore, if you are able to act in a more supervisory role in your current job or if you can study a management qualification to expand your knowledge of leadership and managing others, this would be advantageous. 

Other relevant work experience might include working in building or ground maintenance, working in health and safety, being an operations manager or working in business management. Areas such as procurement and jobs where you are communicating with stakeholders can also be very useful in this role and help you become a successful candidate for a facilities management position.

If you have little to no relevant work experience, volunteering at a charity in their operations team is a great way to build a relevant CV. However, every job is different, so be sure that if you are applying for a specific organisation, check the job description to see if you have the required experience and how many years of experience they require.

The most common route to becoming a facilities manager is to take on an assistant services manager role first. In this role, you will be overseeing parts of operations or areas of building and grounds maintenance rather than managing all operations. From there, you can gain qualifications or experience to become a facilities manager. 

There are several career prospects for a facilities manager in Ireland, especially if you participate in further continuous professional development (CPD). Some of the most common career avenues that facilities managers go down include becoming a chartered surveyor (after completing an accredited degree programme), taking on other general management roles or becoming a consultant.