The facilities management industry is facing a double whammy: its aging workforce isn’t very tech savvy, just as technology is becoming a bigger part of the job.

The average age of the facilities management workforce is 49 years old, a Facilities Management Association survey found. IFMA, the world’s largest industry body for facilities professionals, suggests that as many as 40% of facilities managers in high-income countries will retire by 2026.

“With not enough young workers entering the profession there’s a growing skills gap,” says Shane Betts, Head of Corporate Business for JLL Work Dynamics. “It means filling any FM role can prove challenging. But finding professionals with technology skills can be even harder.”

While the real estate industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, this is rapidly changing, with 56% of organizations planning to adopt technology for predictive maintenance, JLL research shows.

 “Employing and upskilling people with the desire and capability to use the tools available to deliver on strategic goals and improve experiences for building users is now an imperative,” says Betts.

The facilities management profession has been notoriously under-appreciated in the past, with much of its work going on behind the scenes. Now, as technology fuels more complex, agile and sophisticated facilities strategies, those fluent in its use are increasingly being sought out and recognized as vital to workplace success.

A recent survey by smart building tech firm Toggled, found while an overwhelming majority of organizations had implemented smart tech, 4 in 10 said they lacked dedicated, knowledgeable facilities staff to keep it running smoothly.