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- Industrial cleaners clean commercial buildings, often as part of a team
- With experience, you could progress to become a team supervisor
- Option to set up your own company to specialise in a particular type of cleaning, like flood relief or biohazards
As an industrial cleaner, your line of work may be more hazardous than that of a standard cleaner, attending to the aftermath of crime scenes or natural disasters.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Washing out boilers, tanks and vats with high pressure hoses
- Removing dust and ash with industrial vacuuming equipment
- Decontaminating work areas and machinery
- Mixing cleaning chemicals in the correct amounts
- Sandblasting the outsides of building and structures
- Working from 'cradles' or mobile access platforms to reach higher levels
- Disposing of hazardous waste
- Removing graffiti
- Reporting potential hazards to supervisors
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work in a prison, at a school, in a commercial building or in an NHS or private hospital. Your working environment may be at height or cramped, and protective clothing might be required.
You'll need
This role would be ideal for someone with thoroughness and attention to detail, initiative, ambition and a desire to succeed, excellent verbal communication and customer service skills, patience in stressful situations, sensitivity and understanding, and the ability to accept criticism.
You could do a college course in a cleaning-related course.
You could also get this job through an intermediate apprenticeship in cleaning and support services.
Direct application is possible, but previous cleaning experience might be useful.
You can also do specialist training through The British Institute of Cleaning Science.
To train and work on a construction site, you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card, and a driving licence might be useful.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could become a team supervisor. You could also set up your own company to specialise in a particular type of cleaning, such as flood relief or biohazards.