How to Start a Facilities Management Career Without Work Experience?

Portobello Institute offers IWFM 3 for inexperienced Facilities Management Professionals
06 May 2021

Gaining work experience has never been tougher to do. We’ve reached a point in the realm of employment opportunities where employers can ask for extensive work experience while only offering an entry level position in return.

Entry level positions used to be where employees gained work experience to then move up through the ranks of their respective industry. Now you need work experience to gain work experience, which makes no sense.

This has led to more and more people being forced into unpaid internships or working part time alongside a full-time job away from their preferred career path.

It’s not easy out there for those starting out.

The point of work experience is to put into practice the things that you have learned, or are learning on a course or programme. You are reinforcing the ideas you were instilled with from your college course. An introductory course should teach you about that sector and help you gain the skill set required to gain experience in that sector.

Introductory courses that require work experience are creating a closed loop. Those who have the experience don’t need the course and those who need the course don’t have the experience to apply for it.

If a course is designed to introduce you to a concept, sector or industry, you shouldn’t have to already be an expert or have a full-time job within that sector to apply for it.

Creating further barriers to employment and career progression makes no sense.

Gaining Facilities Management Experience

Portobello Institute offers qualifications for experienced Facilities Management professionals that do require prior work experience. But we also offer the IWFM 3 as an introductory course for Facilities Management professionals who don’t have much or any experience.

With the IWFM 3, we are going to develop your skill set as a Facilities Management professional so that you are set up to gain experience in your industry. It will also give you opportunities to progress onto other qualifications that do require more experience.

This qualification is specifically designed to help you learn about facilities management and all things FM as you plan your career ahead. It can be a complicated sector to navigate, but you will be equipped with all the information you need to help you understand what you need to know.

You can break into the sector with confidence as well as an internationally recognized qualification.

IWFM 3 is a six-month course and these are the modules that you will study:

  • Introduction to Facilities Management
  • Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability in Facilities Management
  • Customer and Stakeholder Relations in FM Operations
  • Specification and Procurement of Facilities Supplies and Services
  • Health & Safety Responsibilities in FM
  • Budget Management of FM Operations

The three conclusions from this course will allow you to:

  1. Understand the different functions of facilities management and how they cross over.
  2. Understand how to address complex problems.
  3. Gain confidence to undertake responsibility for facilities management tasks.

Learn More About Facilities Management Courses & Careers

Learn about our facilities management department.

If you would prefer to read more about Facilities Management, the FM section of the knowledge zone has various articles discussing Facilities Management including What Does Facilities Management Cover?  To browse through the different FM courses available at Portobello, you can go directly to the Facilities Management department.

If you’re unsure of where you fit or would prefer to talk to someone about the available courses at Portobello, you can contact FM course advisor Brandon McLean on 01 892 0035 or email brandon.mclean@portobelloinstitute.com.

Speak to an expert

Janice O’Toole


Education is a journey that we all begin and finish at different points in our lives. I support students from all walks of life as they map out the path to their dream career. As I am often the first point of contact for many prospective students, I am excited to introduce students to the Portobello Institute experience. I love learning about students’ ideas, goals, and passions, and this job allows me to do so.

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