Denver Area Facility Management Employers
Colorado - Denver Area Facility Management Employers
Workforce Innovation Submitted By: Denver Economic Development & Opportunity
Community Challenge/Problem
Denver City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore approached Denver Workforce Services (DWS) with a problem. The Denver metro area had over 1,300 openings in facility management occupations. With increasing interest in modifying facilities to reduce the environmental footprint of facilities by increasing energy efficiency, the demand for facility management workforce would only grow.
DWS needed to develop a Facility Management Talent Development Pipeline (TDP) program to increase interest in this exciting career opportunity and connect individuals with training that would prepare them to enter this field.
Board Solution/Innovation
Focused on increasing incomes and workforce preparedness for facility management, Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) partnered with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Foundation, the IFMA Denver Chapter and Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR) to develop a pilot program
IFMA provided the training, developed from its existing Essentials of Facility Management curriculum. The 13-week course focuses on basic facility management knowledge and concepts, the facility manager’s (FM’s) role in the tactical planning, scheduling and completion of daily FM tasks, and results in an industry recognized credential. The Community College of Denver (CCD) donated the classroom space. DWS and CASR recruited employers to host 120 hours of work-based learning to complement the classroom training.
Denver Workforce Services (DWS) worked with a number of youth-serving organizations to recruit and enroll 10 participants (all aged 18-24, all representing diverse populations, five women and five veterans) in the Facility Management TDP Pilot when class started in January. In addition to the weekly evening classroom training, participants toured a number of facilities, including Broncos Stadium, Auraria Campus, and the City & County of Denver buildings. To conclude the training, student teams presented relevant case studies at the IgniteFM! Student Challenge, where they present a solution to a real-life industry problem – based on returning to work after COVID-19 – to a panel of career professionals. Although it was originally planned that classroom training would be followed by a paid internship in facilities management and a Career Connections event with local IFMA Denver Chapter members and IFMA Foundation GWI Advisors, including Sodexo, ABM Industries and A&A Maintenance, to support the students in career opportunities and advancement.
Outcomes & Results
Although a number of outcomes were impacted by the COVID-19 closures, Denver believes the Facilities Management TDP Pilot was not without its successes. Six individuals completed the classroom (which was paused in March and then converted to a virtual platform) and Virtual IgniteFM! presentations; two of these individuals were enrolled in the WIOA OSY program to leverage work experience funding for their paid internships. However, due to the COVID-19 closures, employers who had been secured to participate in work-based learning placements were not in a position to host participants. Of the six completing participants, one was hired by a participating IFMA member employer, four were already employed and one moved out of state as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented full implementation of the Facilities Management TDP Pilot, there were several significant successes. IFMA’s Essentials of Facility Management can now be found on COTrainingProviders.org and Denver has approved it as eligible for WIOA funding. Both Metropolitan State University of Denver and CCD are working with IFMA to offer this class, and possibly other IFMA courses, within relevant academic and career technical education programs. DWS is working with the Regional Apprenticeship Consultants to elevate the pilot to a registered apprenticeship.
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