Facilities management apprentices completing training with Capital City College Training (CCCT) are among the highest achievers in the UK recognised by the industry body.
Four of the five Level 3 facilities management apprentices awarded a Distinction by the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management from July 2021 to July 2022 trained with CCCT.
The UK facilities management industry is one of the largest in Europe worth £47 billion and employs around 10 per cent of the population.
Facilities management involves the day-to-day running of operations and support services to maintain and improve an organisation’s infrastructure and productivity.
It includes roles in health and safety, risk, business continuity, procurement, sustainability, space planning, energy, property and asset management.
Facilities management also often oversees activities like catering, cleaning, building maintenance, environmental services, security and reception.
Laura Gripinska, 31, gained a promotion at global real estate and investment firm CBRE after achieving a Distinction on her Facilities Management Level 3 Apprenticeship.
She said: “I already had experience working in facilities and knew it was a field that I enjoy working in and was looking at ways to build my knowledge to progress in my career.
“I felt like I lacked some of the theoretical knowledge and ways to put that into practice. The apprenticeship filled in these gaps and helped me with my development and understand more about the many different areas you can specialise in within facilities management.
“The training I received also made me much more confident in my job and pushed me to challenge myself within my role. It also gave me the opportunity to take on additional tasks and projects to develop my skills.
“By the end of my apprenticeship, I had managed to progress from Facilities Coordinator to an Assistant Facilities Manager for the UK.”
Born in Lithuania, Laura previously worked in hospitality management and moved into facilities management four years ago and has no regrets about her decision.
“I enjoy how versatile you have to be to work within this industry. It is a very fast-paced environment that grows and changes constantly,” she said.
“You get exposed to a lot of different fields from finance, procurement and mechanical and electrical services to sustainability projects, health and safety, and much more. It’s never dull and always challenging. It’s also very rewarding as you can see how your work positively impacts people and your ideas come to life.”
CCCT offers a Facilities Services Level 2 Apprenticeship and Facilities Management Level 3 and Level 4 Apprenticeships with many top employers across London.
Margaret Gotlib, Head of Apprenticeships at CCCT, said: “Laura is one of the many success stories from our facilities management apprenticeship programmes, which we have been running with some of the UK’s leading organisations in the sector for more than 15 years.
“Our strong relationships with employers mean our highly experienced tutors are aware of the skills the industry needs and are training people to the highest possible standard to enable them to progress in their careers.”
