Utilities, rail and highways now refuse site access without a live skills passport – FM is next.
New government frameworks (e.g. RM6232) now require real-time proof of competence and induction for public sector contracts. Private clients are following fast. Tender scores increasingly reward organisations that can demonstrate digital workforce readiness.
Facilities management is now expected to meet the same standards. Your clients don’t accept lower standards of workforce compliance just because FM has been slower to adapt. The technology already exists – and it’s proven – in sectors like construction, highways and utilities. Two things matter here. First, the same people often oversee tenders across multiple sectors, so expectations are being carried over. Second, your competitors are already rolling out digital competency passports. The bar has been raised. If you don’t move now, you risk being left behind.
But on the flip side, if you move quickly, there is an enormous opportunity for you to transform workforce operations, save money and set new standards that win business and build your reputation.
First, what is a digital competency passport?
A competency passport is a secure, portable record of an operative’s competence, compliance, and readiness to work. Unlike paper-based or static digital records, it provides live, site-specific, and instantly accessible information.
It means moving from a wallet full of cards to a single smart app. Typically delivered via a QR and NFC-enabled smartcard or mobile wallet, a digital passport links to a central database and includes:
- Training and qualification history: including role-specific certifications and CPD.
- Security and medical clearances: right-to-work, DBS checks, etc.
- Contract compliance evidence: for employees, agency staff, and subcontractors.
At site entry, a quick scan confirms whether that individual is authorised to work. What used to take hours or days now takes seconds and can be done anywhere.
Why facilities management can’t afford to wait
The FM sector is under increasing pressure from all directions. Together, these forces are creating a tipping point for digital competency systems.
- Regulatory requirements
The Crown Commercial Service’s RM6232 framework – which governs billions of pounds of public sector FM contracts – requires live evidence of inductions, qualifications, and refresher training. This is just one (very significant) example among many.
- Private sector adoption
Major corporate estates and PFI contracts are following suit. If these standards are necessary for government facilities, clients rightly ask, why not apply them everywhere?
- Workforce mobility
FM teams move between hundreds of sites, often covering multiple sites in one day. Paper-based systems can’t keep up. By the time documentation is retrieved, the operative has moved on - and if they haven't, they've had to waste a lot of time waiting.
- Subcontractor complexity
FM depends on subcontractors – often through multiple tiers. Can you instantly prove every individual on site is qualified? Traditional CAFM or Excel systems can’t offer the real-time assurance you need.
- The wider built environment has moved on
FM doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The procurement teams working for your clients are also working with contractors from construction, logistics, utilities and more. They see the solutions that are now common place in those arenas and simply expect you to meet the same best practice.
Lessons from other sectors with competency passports
Facilities management isn’t breaking new ground here. Other sectors have already walked this path – and the pace of adoption should serve as a warning.
- Highways: The Highways Passport covers 35,000+ workers, enabling competency assurance across multiple contractors and regions.
- Rail: Network Rail’s Sentinel card governs trackside work, where safety and compliance cannot be compromised.
- Utilities: More and more utilities, including the likes of Thames Water and South West Water, are mandating a passport to access site.
These sectors share FM’s key characteristics: mobile workforces, layered supply chains, and compliance pressure. Their experience shows how quickly a voluntary standard becomes a requirement. They also show that these solutions save more time and money than they cost to implement.
- 80% reduction in workforce paperwork.
- 70% - 90% reduction in onboarding time.
- 20% saving on training costs
How a skills passport can solve FM’s biggest headaches
Digital skills passports simultaneously improve compliance whilst also saving you money by streamlining operational challenges:
Rapid mobilisation
Winning a contract is one thing. Mobilising in time is another. Traditional onboarding can take weeks. With digital passports, operatives are always deployment-ready.
Audit readiness
Audits currently mean admin panic and paper chases. With a passport system, auditors can verify any worker, on any site, in seconds.
Supply chain enforcement
Subcontractor compliance no longer relies on manual checks or trust alone.
Strategic workforce planning
Live dashboards show expiring certificates, training gaps, and over-reliance on scarce skills. This turns reactive firefighting into proactive planning.
Commercial differentiation
Live competency evidence, real-time mobilisation, and audit transparency are becoming key differentiators in tenders. Early adopters win more work.
Strategic advantages of acting now
Organisations that move gain lasting strategic advantages.
- Win more bids – Demonstrable readiness improves pre-qualification questionnaire scores and client confidence. FM organisations with competency passports are finding it transforms their relationship with clients.
- Cut costs and risk – Reduce failed audits, admin effort, and repeated induction costs.
- Strengthen safety culture – Operatives receive automated reminders and take ownership of their status.
- Create a single source of truth – Integration with HR, CAFM, and access systems eliminates duplication.
- Stay ahead of regulation – Across the built environment, workforce compliance standards are tightening.
- Set the standard - Set the standard – if you move quickly, you can help define what good looks like and shape it around your organisation.
Your next step: Causeway SkillGuard
Leading FM organisations are already deploying Causeway SkillGuard, the world’s leading competency passport. It's the same software that drives Highways Passport, Network Rail Sentinel and Utilities Passport. It offers an all-in-one solution for managing your workforce credentials at the point of need.
If you want to learn more about what competency passports mean for FM organisations like yours, register for our webinar with ISS. We'll be hearing from Steven Murray, who leads ISS' government contracts. He will share the impact Causeway SkillGuard has had for them.
