TITLE:
Blended Learning Strategies for Skill Retention in Facility Management
AUTHORS:
Shankar Manapragada
KEYWORDS:
Blended Learning, Facility Management, Skill Retention, Distributed Practice, Learning Analytics, Professional Training, Engagement, Competency-Based Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.6,
June
15,
2026
ABSTRACT: Education and training in facility management (FM) are increasingly adopting blended learning because of the profession’s growing digital competence requirements, the importance of sustainable decision-making, troubleshooting, and safe operation. The present review article explores the potential of blended learning strategies that can be used to facilitate skill acquisition, skill retention, and transfer of learning in FM training and professional development. Literature from the fields of vocational education, technology-enhanced learning, simulation-based training, skill decay research and FM competency development is drawn upon. The review suggests that blended learning is well suited to FM when online content is purposefully connected to operational activities, face-to-face workshop sessions are used to reinforce learning, simulated learning experiences are applied to operational activities and formative feedback is provided, and spaced refresher sessions are incorporated. The body of evidence from related vocational and safety-critical disciplines suggests that retrieval practice, distributed practice, authentic simulation and learning analytics could be used to help maintain long-term competence, although evidence in the context of FM is limited. The paper suggests a conceptual design of retention-oriented blended FM training and lays out future research needs such as the evaluation of retention effects, instructional design for competency, refresher scheduling, and evaluation of effects on workplace transfer.