ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Cleaning is ensured by continuous effort of an important set of professions, more than four million people in Europe, according to EFCI. Professional standards in cleaning exist in such European countries as Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Holland and Hungary. Professional standards are approved by respective government bodies and form the basis of training programs and qualification exams. The EU uses an 8-level European Qualification Framework (EQF). The cleaner is usually at EQF levels 3 or 4, while the cleaning managerial levels are 5 or 6. Helge Alt from Puhastusekspert and J?nis Ozoli?š of LPUAA tell us more in this piece for ECJ.

Experience and studies show that the work of a trained cleaner is significantly more effective and efficient than that of an untrained employee, often by 30-40 per cent. Moreover, untrained cleaning employees can be potentially dangerous in unconsciously spreading contamination. Training and awareness are crucial when applying Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles to cleaning services. Of critical importance is the competence of the cleaning supervisors and managers.

The real-world context of ensuring competence at all levels of cleaning professions is full of challenges. High employee turnover, inefficient in-house training programs of cleaning companies, lowest-price-only-non-ESG-based tenders, lack of viable professional standards with respective training programs and examination schemes. There are great discrepancies in how successful various EU countries have been so far in ensuring professional competence in cleaning. There is a need to join forces to resolve this issue, to be able to trust our health and well-being to competent cleaners in all European countries.

Joining forces to advance professional competence

A current example of common effort is between the Estonian vocational training provider Puhastusekspert and the Latvian Professional Cleaning and Facility Management Association (LPUAA) within the framework of Erasmus+ project CleanSkill. In Estonia, professional exams have been conducted in the field of cleaning for more than 20 years and approximately 5,000 professional certificates have been issued. At present 11 Estonian educational institutions provide training in cleaning professions.

Within 4 months starting October 2024 a pilot training course at the EQF level 4, Cleaning Supervisor, was carried out by Estonian trainers in Latvia. 30 Latvian cleaning sector managers participated in the training and took the professional exam. Video of the exam process can be viewed here.

Several important lessons were learned in the project which the partners are happy to share with their European colleagues.

Terminology system and professional standards first

A perhaps surprising lesson to start with is that a consistent and comprehensive terminology system, approved and reviewed at appropriate intervals, is a prerequisite for respective professional standards, training programs and examination process. An extensive national standard with illustrative material stipulates the cleaning terms in national language in Estonia. Latvia takes an alternative approach by intending to publish a free-access online glossary approved by LPUAA terminology commission.

In our view, the cleaning competence at a national level starts at having an effective stakeholder team which develops cleaning professional standards. Estonia has developed 4 cleaner professional standards that are viable and proportionate to market needs and therefore implemented widely in the practice. Latvia has only 1 cleaning professional standard which is too extensive and therefore has never been used. Colleagues who are planning to implement the standards are advised to look at the Estonian experience.

The same programme for all?

The pilot trainee group in Latvia was relatively large and covered a wide spectrum of pre-existing competence, education and age: from aspiring cleaning supervisors to cleaning managers with up to 120 subordinates to top cleaning management with 30+ years in the business. All were subjected to the same Estonian training programme, that has successfully evolved in Estonia for a long time.

A part of the cleaning supervisor programme (EQF 4) is in lecture format while the rest of the time is devoted to practical training. All trainees can absorb knowledge effectively in the practical training while only part of them can effectively learn in the lecture format. Trainees which had acquired better individual study skills in their life and ability to concentrate in lectures were able to learn more efficiently. It is expected that similar challenges will occur elsewhere.

Thus, it is suggested to minimise lecture format at lower EQF levels and substitute it with various high intensity interactive methods for transferring theoretical information. The participants at lower EQF levels need to be given continuous moral and technical support as high intensity, result-result oriented training environment may be stressful and require, for example, digital skills.

To receive the higher-level Cleaning Manager (EQF 5) qualification, it is necessary to pass the lower level EQF 4 programme and exam first. Therefore, at the EQF 4 program at the same study people who will remain working at the EQF 4 level and people who are bound for higher qualification levels. The same programme for the first ones may be challenging while for the others it is at times too easy. To affront this, it is suggested that diagnostic work is done prior to the course to determine the needs of trainees. While those who intend to remain at level EQF 4 may need more individual attention, the other trainees can be provided with more challenging tasks facilitating their professional growth.

Does training in cleaning add costs?

"We will not send our employees to training, even if it is free, because our employees have a job to do and such qualification is not required to apply in tenders." We have witnessed such attitudes personally and have seen them elsewhere. Training is still viewed by numerous high level cleaning managers as useless activity that adds costs. Obviously, useless costs need to be avoided, so training is not done properly. May it be that they are right? Or wrong?

High impact training programmes as witnessed in our Estonian - Latvian project improve the efficiency of trainees. Moreover, the trainees measure the efficiency gains in terms of time and resources saved and may present them not only to the instructor, but also to their management. High-impact training does not add costs, but saves costs, that is the reality. Decision-makers in the cleaning industry need to be given quantified proof so they can see the return on investment in cleaning personnel training and make informed decisions in favour of training. That is what we do in our project in Latvia and will gladly share with our European colleagues.

Appreciating what we do by valuing our past

One important part, to tell the truth, hardly thought about before - cleaning and hygiene history - was added to the pilot training program in Latvia. Cleaning has always played an irreplaceable role in ensuring hygiene, which directly affects the duration and quality of human life. The evidence of the history of cleaning clearly demonstrates the high value of the work performed by cleaners, cleaning managers, manufacturers of equipment, inventory and cleaning products, educators, inventors, scientists.

The history of cleaning and hygiene clearly shows what negative and often catastrophic consequences society had to suffer when the technological level of cleaning characteristic of today was not reached or when society deviated from the basic principles of hygiene due to historical reasons and various misconceptions. Cleaning plays an important and ubiquitous role in society. It would be useful if representatives of the relevant fields would study not only the history of cleaning, but also the psychology, sociology and even the philosophy of cleanliness in the future.