ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

In 2013 a formal programme for the training of cleaners was established in Delhi, India. The scheme, called Cleaning Sector Skills for Indian Facility Management (CSSIFM), was launched with the support of two Indian vocational training providers - Don Bosco Tech
and GMR Varalakshami Foundation (GMRVF).

The programme is a public-private partnership between the German engineering federation VDMA (which has a branch devoted to professional cleaning machines) and GIZ, the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation – together they bear much of the cost. The training facilities are equipped with machines provided by VDMA’s members, including Kärcher, Hako, Roots Multiclean, Columbus, Vileda and Vermop. Other costs are covered by the partner VTPs- GMRVF and Don Bosco Tech.

Heading up the project in India is Preyansi Mani, manager and master trainer. She explains the objectives of the scheme. “The aim is to create a pool of skilled workers in professional and mechanised cleaning, and to create career pathways for workers in the FM industry.

“The framework of the curriculum is taken from the three-year apprenticeship programme in Germany, with adaptations made for the Indian culture and to match the prior qualifications and competencies of Indian workers entering the cleaning sector.” It has also been approved by 25 Indian FM companies to meet socio-economic conditions of workers and industry norms.

Mani’s role has been in developing the training package for frontline workers, training the trainers and implementing standardised training centres across the country.

So how are candidates selected for training and how do they find out about the scheme? “We have mobilisation teams with a wide presence in slums in cities as well as villages to attract school drop-outs and the unemployed to the job opportunities post vocational training,” she explains.

“Their job is to spread awareness about the training courses on offer and the potential candidates are mentored and advised on the basis of their qualifications, schooling and interest in
the course.

“Because cleaning suffers from bias in Indian’s caste system – as a job it is looked down upon  - it was very difficult to convince candidates to join CSSIFM in the first six months, even when we could provide evidence of career prospects and good salary opportunities,” Mani adds. “However as more and more candidates have progressed and done well we are now experiencing more interest through word of mouth.”

Cheap labour

Because the concepts of mechanisation and professionalism are still relatively new in the Indian cleaning sector – even in the FM space – manual cleaning practices are still prevalent because labour is so cheap. So the CISSFM project experienced some challenges in pushing its message about mechanical cleaning and the importance of skilled employees to FM clients. 

“However we have been able to place candidates with FM companies that are in dire need of professional staff who can operate cleaning machines and have the necessary expertise,” points out Mani.

“The challenges do not end at finding potential employees,” she continues. “After placement we have found many FM companies’ supervisors are not equipped to supervise semi-skilled candidates from CSSIFM or they are made to do manual tasks without any proper cleaning equipment.

“The result of that is students leave the companies feeling disillusioned. Therefore the programme has a post-training mentoring component in which candidates are provided hand-holding to face the challenges and demands of professional world in first three months. This has brought higher retention.”

Qualified candidates are absorbed as front-line workers and after six months some of them are promoted to supervisory roles. They are employed in sectors as diverse as hotels, airports, shopping malls and some have gained employment as sales representatives at cleaning machine distribution businesses.

Mani explains: “CSSIFM has certified 350 trainees for front-line cleaning positions and 25 trainers to date. Placement rate is 90 per cent and we now have presence in four cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”

Having seen first-hand how the CSSIFM programme is impacting on the life of people who would otherwise have limited opportunities, Mani has no doubts about its success. “This scheme is empowering individuals with employability in the cleaning sector that also provides them with respect and an identity of their own. We have trained individuals with minimal competencies in the basic skills of reading and writing, victims of drug abuse, street youngsters and of course people who have finished eight years of schooling.”

Devendra singh Negi is testament to the programme’s success, as one of the first trainees recruited. He then became a trainer at the centre in Delhi, before moving on to pursue a career in training at an FM company. “From the beginning I learned that cleaning is a science,” he explains, “and as I was a science student I found that very exciting. There were many cleaning machines available to us to help during our training, while industry support from the manufacturers was really encouraging.”

Important opportunity

Singh Negi knew nothing about the cleaning sector before joining the CSSIFM programme, having worked previously as an office assistant. “But as soon as I started training I knew this would be a very important opportunity for me,” he adds. “After I completed my own training I was confident enough to become a trainer myself and in two years I trained around 150 candidates. It was then I decided to gain experience out in the industry so took a job as a housekeeping trainer for a contract cleaning company.”

The plan now is for the CSSIFM project to gain national recognition, which Mani explains would mean government certification and an industry sector skills council to take care of assessments, incentives, etc.

“Our prime minister Narendra Modi recently spearheaded the Clean India campaign and we believe having more skilled workers through professionalisation and mechanisation of the
cleaning sector is certainly the way forward.”

Click here to see the project in action