This is a really tricky topic to discuss, and one which unfortunately does not bear many positive tidings. I know from
working for so long in this industry how diffi cult it is attracting young people into cleaning. From my own experience, I can remember sitting in the classroom working towards my O-Levels, and going into the cleaning industry certainly wasn’t in my mind!
We have a task on our hands; we are trying to get people excited about an
industry which doesn’t have much promotion or a particularly good reputation as a promising career path. Couple this with the fact that there is a growing culture of young people who are graduates, out of work, and yet with an aversion (due to their many qualifi cations) to starting out with physical labour. This is understandable, but ultimately detrimental to our industry as well as our younger population in need of jobs which they may be qualifi ed for, but which simply aren’t there. If more of these graduates could be turned towards our industry, they would benefi t enormously.
One success story comes from my own company; I was having my windows painted by a young lad who was working for his father’s building company a couple of summers ago, when I got chatting to him. It turned out he had a degree and was a very bright young man, so I offered him to work in the accounts department at my company. After about six months he said he was bored in the offi ce and wanted to get out onsite; we
ow can we halt the ability pressure at re a problem attracting industry?
Cleaning in the complex and ever advancing health care environment is a highly diffi cult and demanding part of the whole hospital-
clinical service which is there for the patient, both private and public. For a person to enter this service as a cleaner, there are many things to learn at once.
The initial training must give confi dence and awareness to the new recruit; working under supervision and being shadowed by an experienced colleague is vital for
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the fi rst month. Classroom tuition can be blended in with the practical part of the job until knowledge and confi dence combine, enabling the student to be sent out to be part of the domestic team.
As suppliers to the industry, both chemical and equipment manufacturers should be aware that the products they develop for the healthcare market are specifi c to the job, and easy to use with the minimal amount of training required. They must be in a position to support the training and to have this support as part of the whole package offered.
It is a responsibility of the healthcare provider to ensure that the domestic department has up-to-date, fi t-for- purpose equipment, and that this equipment is repaired or replaced when required. The cleaner should be looked on as an integral part of the service and not looked down on as “only the cleaner”.
Respect should at all times be REGULAR | 25
put him through the CSSA Manager Training Course, and, fast forward a couple of years to today, he’s the Deputy Manager working at the Gherkin in London, with a promising future ahead.
The problem is, how do we convince people that the cleaning and FM industries are exciting to move into after school? I think the answer lies in education; if we could go into schools and colleges and introduce this as a real prospect, I think it would work very well. Another exciting bit of news is the likelihood of the CSSA and SMA merger with Asset Skills, due to happen around the start of November. This would defi nitely be a great way of attracting new people to the industry. It’s all a question of promotion, and perhaps this can be done through bodies such as the CSSA and BICSc.
Douglas Cooke, Co-Founder of Principle Cleaning Services
www.principlecleaning.com
given to the cleaning staff for the physically demanding and constantly scrutinised job they do. The department and individuals should be given recognition for a job well done alongside reprimand for a job poorly completed.
A national cleaning standard qualifi cation would go a long way to ensuring that the healthcare industry recognises the value of this specialised cleaning operation where patients are at risk of infection and ever-increasing standards set by infection control are expected as the norm. Manufacturers that supply this industry should be working together alongside the NHS and private hospitals and clinics, to push for the national certifi cation of healthcare cleaners.
Brian Boll, Systems Director, Jigsaw Cleaning
www.jigsawcleaningsystems.co.uk
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