SOAPBOX


F or the v ast maj ority of young people, conv incing them of a career in cleaning would b e a pretty hard sell When you think of all


the options that young people hav e available these days, its not dif cult to see why cleaning would b e some way down their list; the v ery b right will naturally go into the professions, others will choose pub lic sector or retail careers, and then there’s always a great swathe that want to work for the media and the arts he ne digital professions like social media


and web design will ob v iously interest a lot more, so cleaning wouldn’t b e an option many of them ould consider


But the prob lem in persuading young people to enter the cleaning sector is as much ab out perception as anything else hey ill have observed cleaners whilst growing up, mayb e in schools or hospitals, and on T V and in the media, and the connotations will almost always b e negativ e – low pay, dirty,


b oring, repetitiv e, arduous and dead- end any parts of the sector are like that, b ut there are opportunities as well; the v ast maj ority of them will not realise that the cleaning industry is a multi-million pound operation, and they will b e completely unaware that the opportunities for rapid career dev elopment are prob ab ly b etter than any other industry


T he industry does hav e plenty of positiv e initiativ es to entice young people any employers have done away with unsociab le shifts, there’s a mov e to the liv ing wage wherev er possib le, and there’s a wide range of training courses that can take a person from general operativ e to superv isor and ev en manager in a


you were trying to


nd graduates to look dustry for a career, what


?


G oing b ack 3 0 years, the world of work was a totally different place We still had a fair proportion of relativ ely heav y


industrial industries, which tended to ab sorb the graduates and non- graduates that were looking to go into the ‘ traditional’ j ob s which, at that time, would look to support a ob for life


hose days are no more We do have an industrial b ase, b ut the emphasis is now more directed to the serv ice sector and this is where the b ulk


twitter.com/TomoCleaning


of the ne obs are o persuade a young person to look to the cleaning industry, we should b e aligning the careers av ailab le within the cleaning industry with the v alues, prospects and security that was promoted in the prev ious generation towards the heav y industries that were prev alent at that time


P rospects for the right candidates are ex cellent; the range of skills that can


b e learned in the cleaning industry can match that of any other modern business he direction that a person can achiev e in cleaning is v ast and the management spread is an equal of any other maor blue chip company


F rom accountancy to H R, logistics, marketing, statisticians, sales and planning, the list is considerab le and achiev ab le to anyone who commits to


j oining the right sort of company – a company that is looking to v alue and nurture the right candidates for these types of career


t should not be dif cult to persuade young people to look at the cleaning industry for a career; in fact, I would say to any young person that the opportunities are in the sector today are many and diverse et us hope this b ecomes an issue of ov er-demand as we emerge out of recession he service industries are the driv ing force of our economy, and this should be recognised


Brian Boll, Systems Director, Jigsaw Cleaning


www.cleanleanhealthcare.org


short time oung people also need to be made aare that the uali cations they can now take whilst working as a cleaning operativ e, in things like health and safety, customer care, and management, are transferab le skills for life


t ill alays remain a dif cult sell to try and get young people interested in the cleaning sector, b ut a change may ell have already started to happen


T hese days, young people don’t want to b e saddled with univ ersity deb t, and many more of them are attracted to the prospect of actually earning money rather than studying


T he cleaning sector can prov ide pay and training, and opportunities for adv ancement that outstrip many other sectors – the key is now getting that message across


Lee Baker, Media and Policy Manager, British Cleaning Council and The Building Futures Group


www.theb uildingfuturesgroup.com


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