Any college student or their parent can tell you that paying for that education is not an easy task. For some, the cost can put a post high school education out of reach. For students ― both traditional and those going back to school ― who have chosen facility management as their field of study, one possible way to defray some costs is through the IFMA Foundation scholarship program.

Since the Foundation began awarding scholarships to FM students in 1991, 346 scholarships have been awarded worth US$954,750. In 2011, the Foundation award a record-setting US$100,000 in scholarships to 36 FM students. The scholarships range in amounts from US$1,500 to US$5,000 per student.

College students studying for their associates, bachelors and graduate degrees can apply for a merit-based scholarship. Full details on the application process are available at www.ifmafoundation.org/grants-scholarships. The application deadline is May 31, 2012.

Every year, more than 200 construction workers are killed as a result of a construction site fall and more than 10,000 are seriously injured. Worker falls are the top cause of construction-related fatalities and currently account for more than 30 percent of on-the-job deaths in this industry.

To combat this problem, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and CPWR―The Center for Construction Research and Training have developed a nationwide fall prevention campaign. The primary objective of this campaign is to raise awareness and equip contractors and workers with necessary information to help prevent falls.

For facility managers involved with or overseeing construction sites, check out the campaign’s central website at www.stopconstructionfalls.com. More information on construction fall prevention is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/construction/stopfalls.html.

Of all the challenges a facility manager has to face in a day, employee morale probably doesn’t often surface at the top of a list. In an article by Nicole Fink, employee morale can be defined as “as the spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks.” Sounds a bit related to FM as morale impacts productivity just as the overall workplace does.

According to Gallup, there are about 22 million U.S. “actively disengaged” workers costing the U.S. as much as $350 billion dollars annually in lost productivity that can be a result of when employees are unhappy at work. Add to that findings from a new report, “The Post Recession Workplace” produced by the Society for Human Resource Management, that says employee morale was the number two area affecting various operational, human capital and financial factors during the recent recession.

Is finding ways to enhance positive employee morale in your FM toolkit? According to Stephanie Fanger, M.S., LEED AP BD+C, Assoc. IIDA, FMP, facilities planner for General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, Ariz., “It is advantageous to investigate the ways employees function within their office environment to ensure occupants are able to be productive and morale is high.” Learn more about employee morale and the workplace in Fanger’s article, “Workplace Configuration: How Office Design Affects Employee Morale and Productivity,” in the May/June issue of Facility Management Journal.

The challenging economic times of the past decade have left many to wonder what professions will truly need employees in the future. As can be expected, many look for the new cutting-edge job or the one that offers some security. What about facility management? Can anyone say that there won’t be facilities in the future?

While telecommuting, virtual offices and the tech gadget you’re probably using to read this blog make it easier for you to work outside of your company’s facility, I think you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who says that companies won’t have headquarters, manufacturing organizations won’t have plants, doctors won’t treat patients in hospitals or universities will be vacant. As long as there are facilities inhabited by companies whose goal is a positive triple bottom line, who want to create environment that fosters productivity, there will be a need for facility managers.

The good news for the current FM and those looking to the field as a career possibility is that compensation is on the upswing. According to IFMA’s “Profiles 2011 Salary and Demographics Report,” combining base salary and bonus pay, the average FM pulls in US$99,578 in total compensation annually which is up from US$91,766 in 2007. Even those do well when they first enter the profession, as practitioners with three or fewer years in facility management earn US$65,000 a year, up from US$56,000 in 2004.

Profiles 2011 also found other positive salary-related info for FMs. Read more about it through the Profiles 2011 IFMA news release.

Today marks the first day of IFMA’s World Workplace 2011 Conference & Expo, an annual three-day educational and networking event focused on the future of the built environment. Building on the professional development opportunities available through the association year-round, the World Workplace experience includes a conference focused entirely on education and an exposition incorporating product demonstration and instruction.

World Workplace will also offer attendees a glimpse into the future of the workplace, as they get the first look at the new products and services debuting in 2012. The conference’s expo floor will feature more than 280 exhibitors — including companies such as AlliedBarton, IBM, KBR, Kimball Office, Lowe’s, Staples, Steelcase, Toshiba and UGL — as well as governmental agencies including the U.S. State Department and General Services Administration. A number of local Phoenix-area exhibitors will also be on hand.

This year’s expo will be open on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 26-27. Members of the public are invited to attend free of charge. The expo will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, and from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27.