Ask FM professionals why they have not got a formal qualification yet and you will almost never hear doubt about the value. You will hear about time. Months of study around a full-time FM role is a real commitment, and in facilities management there is always a busy quarter, always a mobilisation, always a reason it slips another year. We kept hearing that answer, so we changed the part of the equation that was ours to change.
What is IWFM's and what is ours
The Award is from the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management’s, the professional body for FM, and it is regulated and accredited exactly like every other IWFM qualification. What we built, as an IWFM recognised centre, is the delivery. The Award in a Week is our answer to a simple question. If the qualification is sound and the barrier is time, how little time can the learning honestly take?
Why a week is possible
Two features of the IWFM framework make it work. First, an Award is the smallest size of IWFM qualification, fewer units than a Certificate or Diploma, so the content genuinely fits a focused week rather than being crammed into one. Second, IWFM qualifications are assessed through work-based assignments rather than exams, which means assessment can happen inside the week, applied to your own building, contracts and team, with no exam hall and no waiting months for a result.
The design of the five days
The structure is deliberate. Mornings, Monday to Thursday, are remote workshops from 10am to 1pm, led by a practitioner who has done the FM job. Afternoons, and Friday, are for your assignments, with 1:1 coaching alongside you, so you apply each morning’s learning while it is still fresh rather than weeks later. The whole week comes to around 35 hours, and the groups are kept deliberately small, because 1:1 coaching is only real when the numbers allow it. That is also why places on each running are limited.
What a week is not
An Award is the focused route, not the comprehensive one. A Certificate or Diploma still gives you the full breadth of a level, and most of our learners complete a Certificate in 7 to 9 months around the day job. But for the experienced FM with years of knowledge and nothing formal on paper, that first regulated credential is often the one that changes things, and plenty of our learners use the Award as a stepping stone to the fuller qualifications later. 98% of our learners say they feel more confident in their role after training with us, and confidence does not ask how long the course was.
The honest trade
So that is the thinking. IWFM built a regulated internationally recognised qualification worth having. We offer it in a week, which removes the reason most people were not getting it. If time has been your barrier too, the details are on the course page, and if you are weighing the week against a longer route, tell us where you are now and we will give you an honest answer about which fits.
Speak to us to discuss your IWFM Award in a week options
*Our articles are accurate at the time of publication, but course details, funding and industry standards can change. They’re here to inform rather than to replace formal advice, so if you’re weighing up a decision, get in touch and we’ll help you find the right path.
Level 4/5/6 IWFM Award in a Week
- FM professionals
- £1,900-£2,400 + VAT
- 1 week
- IWFM membership included
Level 6 IWFM Facilities Management
- Strategic FM professionals
- £1,200-£5,300 + VAT
- 4-15 months
- IWFM membership included
Level 5 IWFM Facilities Management
- Operational FM professionals
- £1,100-£4,500 + VAT
- 4-12 months
- IWFM membership included
Level 4 IWFM Facilities Management
- FM supervisors
- £950-£3,400 + VAT
- 4-12 months
- IWFM membership included
Level 3 IWFM Facilities Management
- Aspiring FM professionals
- £790-£2,100 + VAT
- 4-12 months
- IWFM membership included