Finding The Right Cleaning Job In South Africa
Cleaning jobs in South Africa have been a key driver in curbing unemployment in the country; people with few or no qualifications have taken on this kind of work. The cleaning industry operates within a broad spectrum entailing specialised work such as cleaning upholstery and carpets, industrial clean, passenger vehicle cleaning, general office, shop cleaning and schools cleaning.
Usually all you need is a bit of experience, a qualification may work to your advantage and as you work, you can move into more specialised areas in the industry. On a day to basis general cleaning duties differ from specific types of jobs but may entail cleaning upholstery, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning spaces that are used on a daily basis and it is important to follow the stipulated safety procedures and to use the right equipment.
A typical work week for a cleaner can be from 35-40 hours depending on their industry; the average cleaner in South Africa earns ZAR34,637 per year people in this field move onto other positions after 10 years in this career. Constant training and development is an ongoing debate across industries in South Africa, as it is advisable to move into more specialised cleaning areas to ensure that career development takes place. Training and development programmes should entail topics such Health and Safety and the correct use of equipment. Numerous institutions offer courses in specialised cleaning areas such as crime scene cleaning(which pay more) and other courses to improve skills and understanding of the correct use of equipment.
Like any other job, you need to have certain personality traits to make the job easy, fun and interesting, here they are:
- You should be able follow instructions and understand job requirements; this is important because many client can be very particular about how they would like their property to be cleaned
- You need very basic maths skills in order to measure cleaning products and some chemicals that may need to be diluted
- Your health and physical wellbeing determines your performance so it is important to stay fit
- You should be able to work within a team and with little supervision. The truth is that, you will be cleaning alone a lot of the time so it is important to keep up to standard and be able ask for help when you are stranded