The cleaning industry has grown tremendously over the last decade. There are now hundreds of companies offering services ranging from residential to commercial cleaning. Many of these companies also offer their services through franchises or independent contractors.
On the other side, homeowners and businesses expect their premises to be cleaned professionally with acceptable hygiene standards. Government agencies in Singapore have mandated requirements for cleaning companies to provide their services with professionalism and fair employment practices. These companies are licensed and certified before they can operate.
What does it take to be a certified cleaning company in Singapore and offer trained cleaners to perform the job? Let us try and find that out in this post. Read on…
Governing Bodies, Institutions, and Initiatives for the Cleaning Industry
The National Environment Agency (NEA) mandates requirements to be met for cleaning services providers to operate in Singapore. It implements a cleaning business license regime which entails compulsory training for cleaners and adoption of the Progressive Wage Model.
Training requirements can be fulfilled under the under the Work Force Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Environmental Cleaning Framework by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) or the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Skills Certificate.
Besides these, NEA also offers two levels of awards under the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation scheme for companies to raise standards and professionalism of the cleaning industry.
Certifications and Skills Training Consumers can Expect from Service Providers
If you are looking to hire a cleaning contractor or trained cleaners for the upkeep of your premises here some conditions that you may want to put forth in your contract
- The Contractor must provide skills training and certification to all its cleaning personnel under WSQ, in compliance with the training criteria under the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme (EAS) and mandated Cleaning Business License requirements.
- The Contractor must ensure that at least 50%, and thereafter at least 75% of cleaners are WSQ trained and certified in at least four competency units within the first six (6) months and twelve (12) months of the contract period respectively, in compliance with the training requirement set under NEA’s Clean Mark Silver Award or Enhanced Clean Mark Certification schemes.
- The Contractor should ensure that Cleaners working in general cleaning undergo skills training and certification under Environmental Cleaning (WSQ) in – 1) WSQ Cleaning of hard floors, 2) WSQ Cleaning of carpets, 3) WSQ manual public cleansing work
- For toilet cleaning, cleaners shall attain “WSQ Cleaning of washrooms” developed by SSG
Final Words
Cleaning and hygiene are essential aspects of our daily lives. The proper provisioning of these services and the competencies of individuals delivering it, is thus important. Tight regulations, mandated skills training, and progressive wages are encouraged since the past few years to ensure fairness and service standards. This works in favour of all parties involved – the consumers, the cleaning staff, and the cleaning company. At A1 Facility Services we value and strive to uphold the code of conduct in the best interest of everyone.
