TRAINING Live and learn
Neil Spencer-Cook, Chief Operating Officer at the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), discusses the importance of training in the cleaning industry, and where to go for it.
How many times have you heard somebody bemoan that they have to go on a training course? How many times have they followed that up with: “I’ve been doing this for 20 years – what do they think they can teach me?”
If they stopped to think about it for a couple of minutes, they have been trained (or taught if you like,
because let’s face it, training is teaching) all
the way through life. How did they learn to talk? By having somebody asking them to repeat the words that they say – usually starting with mama or dada. That’s training – training to talk – so it’s not just something that you do later in life after you have finished formal education. Do we not generally learn something new every day?
I’ve been on this planet for over 50 years and I’m still learning – or, being trained – but the key to relevant training later in life is knowing who the best provider for the training is for the knowledge you want to gain, because there is rarely a one-stop shop for education when you get into the specifics of workplace training.
Let’s take BICSc as a starting point. Although not the only training provider for cleaning operatives, BICSc is widely regarded in the cleaning industry as the ‘go-to’ training provider for the skills required by a cleaning operative, but that’s not the only training we provide.
Our primary ethos has always been about protecting the operative. So, while we will train an operative in the most efficient and effective way to use a scrubber dryer, for example, before we get hands on with any equipment in any skill, we always start with the theory behind it including the all-important health and safety aspects, so that the student or candidate is fully aware of the potential risks when undertaking any cleaning task, and knows how to keep themselves and other users of the building safe.
However, we don’t just provide training for cleaning operatives. We have courses suitable to people just starting out in the industry (Licence to Practice), to those who have progressed to, say, team leader with courses such as The Theory of Cleaning Inspections, up to employer level for people who want to start their own cleaning company and need to know how to price a contract, with courses such as Work Rates and Work Loading and its companion course, Calculating and Costing.
We can also help people grow through their career in cleaning if they have their sights set on a supervisor role with the BICSc Cleaning Supervisor’s Certificate, but where does a cleaning operative go if they want to progress their career outside of the cleaning function?
60 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
Very often the cleaning operation, whether it is an in-house team or an external contractor, will fall under the umbrella of facilities management. Facilities management covers far more than making sure that the toilets have been cleaned and the blown light bulb in reception has been replaced.
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) offers courses from an Introduction to Facilities Management, through Digital Technology in the Workplace, and on to boosting your organisation’s performance with Innovation in FM.
At BICSc we have launched two bespoke apps – the CPSS assessor app and the Cleaning & Hygiene Audit app – which could pique the interest of the more technically minded, but where do those students go for further information?
The Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA), whose chairman, Paul Ashton, is firmly focused on the role that technology will play in supporting the cleaning operatives within the industry while minimising environmental impact, is one place that more information on innovation in the industry can be found.
Obviously, there are also the manufacturers of innovative technology that can provide training on the specific use of their machines. The Cleaning and Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) represents the manufacturers and distributors supplying cleaning and hygiene products in the UK and will be able to advise on reputable businesses to go to for this.
If operatives are looking for a more specific organisation for the sector they work in, there are many other associations that can help.
One of these, the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals (AHCP) has a Professional Development Programme which covers topics such as infection prevention and control, health, safety and the environment, and communications and customer service.
For those working in the hospitality sector, the UK Housekeepers Association (UKHA) work to assist, develop and profile housekeeping managers whose objectives are to promote the professional status of housekeepers, promote housekeeping as a career, and provide a forum for the exchange of information, training, and ideas.
The Worshipful Company of Environment Cleaners (WCEC) also offers the Chartered Practitioner as a means of recognising and maintaining high standards and ongoing proficiency for individuals.
Someone new to the cleaning and hygiene industry may find the number of organisations available to help them overwhelming. There are a number of places you can go to, but the advice here from BICSc is to sit and think about what you want to achieve, learn about or get more
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