Cleaner
Cleaners work in offices, schools, hotels and hospitals. They also do more specialised work like upholstery or conservatory cleaning.
Also known as: Cleaning services operative, window cleaner, car valet
- Starter salary£19,000 a year
- Experienced£25,000 a year
- Typical hours34 to 42 a week
What you'll do
As a cleaner, you could:
- mix cleaning chemicals and detergents safely and in the right amounts
- clean offices, houses or vehicles
- clean windows, shop fronts and other glass surfaces
- work at heights, using ladders, water fed poles or mobile access platforms
- follow infection control procedures, if working in hospital wards and operating theatres
- maintain stock levels of cleaning products
- follow health and safety regulations, for example those covering food and hygiene, or working at height
Working environment
You could work at a client's home, at a client's business, in an NHS or private hospital or at a school.
Your working environment may be dirty.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work on your own
- customer service skills
- knowledge of public safety and security
- the ability to work well with your hands
- physical fitness and endurance
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to become a cleaner
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
College
You could do a college course in cleaning or cleaning principles to get some of the skills and knowledge you'll need in this job.
Entry requirements
There are no set entry requirements for this route.
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Cleaning Hygiene Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.
This is useful if you want to work in hospitals, care homes or other places that need to be cleaned to a very high standard.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
Direct application
You can apply for jobs with cleaning companies, car valeting services or organisations that employ their own cleaners.
There are no set entry requirements, but you'll need to show that you're reliable and able to do the job.
If you're looking for specialised cleaning work, for instance in a medical setting, it can help to have some experience.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks
Career path and progression
With experience, you could:
- move into specialist cleaning services
- become a supervisor or manager
- start your own business
Career tips
If you want to work as a window cleaner on tall buildings like office blocks, it can help if you've completed training in rope access work or operating a mobile platform , though this is not essential.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
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