The British Cleaning Council (BCC), the UK’s leading authority on commercial cleaning, waste management and hygiene, has revealed that the North West is set to see a boom in cleaning jobs over the next six years.
Data from the BCC’s latest research predicts that 43,000 jobs related to the cleaning sector will need to be filled in the region by 2024 through a mix of organic growth and replacement demand.
The BCC also believes the nature of many jobs being created in within the cleaning industry during this period will be radically different from the ‘cleaning operative’ role which most people are familiar with today.
Stan Atkins, Chair of the BCC, said: “Our figures indicate that the North West, which already employs over 70,000 people within the cleaning sector, will see over 40,000 job opportunities being created as the sector grows and people retire. However, many of the cleaning jobs of the future will require different skills, and will be much more visible.
“For example, increasing automation within commercial cleaning will see a rise in demand for more technicians, but we also anticipate the need for daytime cleaning staff who will be required to work around people in offices, shops, factories and public buildings.
“These roles will need a very different skillset to the traditional office cleaner, and recruiters will be looking for individuals who are comfortable interacting with customers, as well as being able to clean a workplace efficiently.
“The BCC also anticipates that with our aging population, and the need to keep people out of hospital and care homes for as long as possible, domestic roles currently seen as separate will morph into a new hybrid profession where caring, shopping and companionship services will be combined with cleaning and other tasks.
The BCC has also calculated the North West is currently home to over 3,800 cleaning firms, representing a 34% increase since 2010.
A presentation of the BCC’s findings to the UK’s cleaning and facilities management (FM) industries is set to be one of the highlights of next month’s Manchester Cleaning Show, a major trade exhibition and conference being hosted at Manchester’s Event City in April.
The two-day event (April 11-12), which is co-produced by the BCC, is set to focus on every part of the cleaning and FM supply chain and will host over 20 talks and seminars from leading industry experts.
The show, being held in the North West for the second time, will also feature over 80 exhibitors drawn from across Europe including Karcher, Nilfisk, SEBO, Bunzl and Killis.
Greater Manchester will also be well represented by the likes of Bolton-based janitorial specialists Jangro, Tameside-based cleaning chemical giants Greyland, and Sale-based Floorbrite Cleaning & Facilities Services
Floorbrite’s Marketing Director Nina Wyers, said of the event: “Floorbrite Cleaning & Facilities Services are delighted that The Cleaning Show is coming back to Manchester.
“In its debut year in 2016 our experience surpassed our expectations. Our stand with a seven-strong team struggled to cope with demand at times but it was a great opportunity to reinforce new and existing client and supplier relationships and to showcase our full portfolio of services.”
Another highlight of the 2018 Manchester Cleaning Show will be the return of the Window Cleaning Challenge.
Open to professionals and amateurs alike, the competition is based on who can clean three 1.143m high windows and the sill, in the fastest possible time, leaving no smears. The fastest times of each day will see two competitors earn a prize of £250.
Entrants can also take a shot at the official Guinness World Record time of just 9.14 seconds, set in 2009 in Blackpool, by legendary Essex window cleaner Terry ‘Turbo’ Burrows.
Terry himself will be in Manchester to see if his record is finally broken, and it will be adjudicated by the Federation of Window Cleaners, who themselves are based in Reddish, Greater Manchester.
