Industrial cleaner
Industrial cleaners use specialist equipment to clean buildings, factories and machinery. They also clean up after fires, floods and spills.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As an industrial cleaner, you could:
- wash out boilers, tanks and vats with high pressure hoses
- remove dust and ash from chimneys with industrial vacuums
- decontaminate work areas and machinery
- clean sites affected by fires, floods or spillages
- sandblast the outsides of building and structures
- clean windows and glass features, using water fed poles
- work from cradles or access platforms to clean higher levels
- mix chemicals and dispose of hazardous waste safely
- follow strict safety standards and procedures
- report potential hazards to supervisors
Working environment
You could work at a client's business, in the community or visit sites.
Your working environment may be in conditions that some may find unpleasant, at height and involve using chemicals.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become a team supervisor or manager with a cleaning company.
You could also set up your own business to specialise in a particular type of cleaning, like flood relief or biohazards.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to use your initiative
- physical skills to handle equipment and clean hard-to-reach areas
- knowledge of public safety and security
- the ability to work well with your hands
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- excellent verbal communication skills
- customer service skills
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- be able to cope with working at height
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
- specialist courses offered by a professional body
You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job.
Relevant courses include:
- cleaning
- cleaning principles
- cleaning and support services
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
More Information
You could specialise in working in hospitals and medical centres by applying to do a Cleaning Hygiene Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship takes around 1 year to complete and combines on-the-job training with study off site.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You can apply directly for jobs. There are no set requirements but previous cleaning experience can be useful.
You could do specialist training through The British Institute of Cleaning Science.
Registration
- you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on a construction site
Career tips
A driving licence will be useful for some jobs, as you may need to travel to different sites.
If you work as a window cleaner on tall buildings like office blocks, it may help to have done training in rope access work or operating a mobile platform.
Further information
You can find out more about careers in industrial cleaning from The British Institute of Cleaning Science.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.