FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Final proposals for an Apprenticeship Levy funded industry-wide Apprenticeship for the cleaning and hygiene sector have been submitted to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (iATE).
The approving body will give the final agreement and confirmation for the Apprenticeship Standard and End Point Assessment within a couple of months although there is no fixed timeline at the moment.
The British Cleaning Council (BCC) first began this latest move to set up an Apprenticeship Standard towards the end of 2021. The Apprenticeship promises to bring huge benefits to the cleaning and hygiene industry and many sector businesses and organisations have supported and backed the proposals.
There is currently no Apprenticeship scheme for the sector which provides the training in the technical skills needed by cleaning and hygiene operatives working outside healthcare, and leaves many sector employers with no suitable option for investing Apprenticeship Levy funds on training staff. All employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million put around 0.5 per cent towards the Apprenticeship Levy. Therefore, every year, millions of pounds of levy funding paid by cleaning and hygiene businesses is lost because there is no suitable training programme to invest the money in.
BCC Chairman Jim Melvin said: “The industry has been crying out for this Apprenticeship, and I hope it is given the go-ahead soon.
“It will be hugely beneficial for the industry, making available highly significant and substantial funds from inside our industry for staff training and helping to redress the completely inaccurate idea that industry staff are ‘low skilled’.”
iATE will first hold further discussions about key points before a final consultation is held.
FMJ in conjunction with Grundon Waste Management is pleased to launch the 2023 waste management and recycling survey which examines the ways in which FMs approach their waste management responsibilities.
In this, the sixth year for the annual appraisal, we know there is a greater opportunity than ever for FMs to reappraise their waste and recycling operations and help their organisations meet the growing pressure to achieve ESG goals.
We want to learn how FMs have adapted to the legislative, economic and societal changes of the past year and how they plan to meet the latest waste and recycling targets.
In this survey we’ve posed a series of questions which include insights into FMs’ waste management strategy and targets, how they’re moving towards zero waste targets, and the importance of not just meeting compliance targets but also ESG goals.
The results of the 2023 survey will be published in FMJ magazine and form the basis of a white paper co-written by FMJ and the experts at Grundon on how to approach waste and recycling strategies.
To take part click here.
