 IndustryNews


Working together to create a diverse


workforce Stan Atkins, group chief executive officer of BICSc, reports.


British Institute of Cleaning Science People


TheWorshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners held its annual ceremony of in- stallation and company rededication at the medieval St Olave’s Church within the City of London on Friday 3 May. Following the ancient tra-


ditions of the City Liveries, Maureen A.Marden was in- stalled as Master for the year ensuing along with the in- stallation of Issa K. Tahhan as Senior Warden and Timo- thy J. Doyle as Junior War- den. After the Installation, a


Findings in the Low Pay Commission Report (2011) con- firmed that particular groups of workers - such as women, disabled people, ethnicminorities and those with no qualifi- cations - aremore likely to be inminimumwage jobs. This is a common theme across the cleaning industry, particu- larly at cleaning operative level. Further figures produced in the Quarter 2 2011 Labour Force Survey indicate that the employment rate of disabled people is less than 50%- compared with almost 80%of non-disabled people. Remploy Employment Services is the UK’s leading


provider of specialist employment support for disabled and disadvantaged people. Remploy’s aimis to achieve equality in employment for disabled and disadvantaged people by changing attitudes towards disability in the workplace. Thus, it supports the BICScmission of continuing to raise the professional standards within the industry and protect the operative, the client and the environment. Back in 2011, BICSc and Remploy began working to-


gether to promote diversity within the cleaning industry fol- lowing requests fromclients for candidates to be BICSc accredited through the CPSS qualification. Through its net- work of branches and offices across England, Scotland and Wales, Remploy’s specialist advisors are working to deliver BICSc training via its 22 assessors to clients to support their entry into the cleaning industry with an accredited qualification. Remploy is already working in partnership with some of


the UK’s biggest employers,matching themwith the right people for their business and helping themto build and sustain a skilled and diverse workforce. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are required to


make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. The act states that employersmust take reasonable steps so that the employee can carry out their job, and, provided that an adjustment would be reasonable, an employer has no defence for not carrying it out. Funding to support reason- able adjustments is available though Access toWork, a De- partment forWork and Pensions scheme. Grants are available for people with a disability, health issue ormental health condition who are in their first six weeks of employ- ment with a new employer. Remploy is available to assist with this process and to ensure a smooth start to a candi- date’s new role. In addition, Remploy is delivering theWorkplaceMental


Health Support Service in partnership with Access toWork, which aims to support individuals experiencingmental dis- tress in the workplace to remain in, or return to, their role. As Remploy and BICSc continue to work together we are


seeking interested employers to offer interviews for BICSc qualified candidates fromRemploy. Through offering an in- terview for Remploy candidates we are not asking employ- ers to only employ Remploy candidates, rather we are asking the industry as a whole to support us in offering everyone an opportunity to work in the industry. If you are willing to give everyone a chance and sign up to


guarantee interviews for Remploy candidates, please visit www.remploy.co.uk/employers.


8 l C&M l JUNE 2013 l www.cleaninghub.net


MaureenMarden,Master of theWorshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners.


Additional guests included


Major General Ewan Carmichael MBE and Carol Carmichael, Colonel Richard Harrold OBE and Lesley Har- rold, and many leading fig- ures from the cleaning industry. Guests were enter- tained by Her Majesty’s Band of The Royal Marines, Portsmouth. Established in 1986, The


Worshipful Company of Envi- ronmental Cleaners is a highly relevant, modern Liv- ery Company, supporting and preserving the ancient customs and traditions of the city whilst meeting the changing needs of amajor 21st century industry. The


banquet was held in the Mansion House with guests including Alderman Sir Michael Bear, The Lord Mayor Locum Tenens (repre- senting the Lord Mayor of the City of London). Other civic guests included Alder- man and Sheriff Jeffrey Evans and The Honourable Juliet Evans, Sheriff Nigel Pullman, and Cynthia Buchanan, and Chief Com- moner George Gillon.


company aims to encourage and maintain high standards of practice and integrity while promoting and sup- porting education, training and research projects within the cleaning industry. Male and femalemember-


ship of theWorshipful Com- pany is made up of 200 senior managers, represent- ing many of the major clean- ing and support service management companies and the manufacturers and sup- pliers to the industry. TheWorshipful Company


of Environmental Cleaners is one of 108 Livery Companies which are based upon trades, industries and pro- fessions and carry on the an- cient traditions of the Guilds and Livery Companies which started in the 12th century. If you would like to find out


more about the Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners, please email keithl@wc-ec.com or tele- phone 0207 7041515.


Contico’s commercial direc- tor, Vernon Holmes, is standing down after 38 years with the company. He has decided that, fol-


lowing the successful transi- tion of ownership following the company’s acquisition by Robert Scott and Sons in 2012, the time is now right to move on and to look at new challenges within the indus- try. “I leave Contico on 30 June 2013 after 38 fantastic years with the company,” he said. “Over the past 15 months I have done my best to professionally pass over the Contico business to the directors of Robert Scott and the time is now right for me tomove on to new and hope- fully exciting opportunities within the industry. The Con- tico brand is now in very safe hands and the future of the company secured.” Alastair Scott,marketing


and sales director at Robert Scott, said: “It has been a great pleasure to work alongside Vernon over the past 15 months; he has been invaluable inmanaging the


Vernon Holmes.


transition of ownership and has worked tirelessly to con- tribute to the turn round of the Contico brand. We are very sorry to see Vernon go but understand his wish to look for new challenges and we wish him the very best in any new venture he pur- sues.”


An award-winning young ap- prentice from Stanford le Hope is the latest success to come from an employment partnership based in Thur- rock. Having struggled to find permanent employment for more than a year, Lewis English was supported into work with cleaning and envi- ronmental specialist Nordic Pioneer by local Work Pro- gramme provider Ingeus. He has subsequently been crowned Nordic Pioneer Ap- prentice of the Year, has been nominated for a re- gional business award, and his success is now paving the way for further unem- ployed Ingeus clients to be recruited nationally by Nordic Pioneer. The partnership between


Ingeus and Nordic Pioneer has also given four other long-term unemployed young people apprentice- ships in Thurrock, with a fur- ther 12 recruited for Nordic Pioneer contracts in London.


The Supplies House has an- nounced the appointment of AdamDickinson as sales di- rector. The appointment forms part of a strategic ac- celeration of growth for the business into broader terri- tories and new end user markets. Dickinson has spent the last 15 years as manufacturer, importer and distributor of various refuse sacks and bags, with his most recent role asmanag- ing director of the refuse sack supply company, Po- laris Plastics. Brian Chapman, managing


director of The Supplies House, said: "Adam's arrival as sales director marks an important milestone for the business which will build upon our successes to date to deliver greater focus and customer service to our cur- rent and new customers. We welcome his arrival and look forward to him driving our business forward." Dickinson said: “Through


my prior working relation- ship with The Supplies House I saw first-hand how very competitive and cus- tomer focused Brian and the team were. When the oppor- tunity arose to join such a progressive company, it was an opportunity that neither party could miss."


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