Celebrate & have a good time

Of course, achievements are being commended all year round but, in September and October, the back-to-back celebrations of the BICSc Awards, the WCEC Military Awards and the Golden Service Awards will between them illuminate the good works taking place in all corners of this diverse and far-reaching industry.

The Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners' (WCEC) annual Military Awards will be held in London on 23rd September, and the ceremony will recognise the contribution of high-achieving members of the Royal Army Medical Corps, the RAF Environmental Health Cadre and WCEC’s own affiliated cadet units. Cadets who train to become Environmental Health Technicians play a crucial role in their military units, advising on all aspects of environmental health, occupational hygiene and environmental protection, both in the field and in barracks.

Meanwhile, the British Institute of Cleaning Science's (BICSc) Awards, which take place the week before in Birmingham on 17th September, will reward those that have excelled in maintaining high standards via training and assessment across the industry.

Outstanding service levels are achieved when individuals and organisations put excellent staff training and development initiatives into practice. The Golden Service Awards will highlight this on 23rd October at the London Hilton on Park Lane, when it brings together high performers in all segments of the cleaning and support services industry, from SMEs to large contract-cleaning companies and in-house cleaning teams.

So, it would seem that we're good at valuing the inspirational companies, teams and individuals operating within our industry – but in commercial cleaning we must go even further. Talking up these achievements to those outside of the industry is also important if we are to demonstrate the value of the cleaning industry and prevent cleaning operatives being an undervalued and 'invisible' workforce.

Obviously, there's no room for complacency. While there are lots of companies and individuals that do go beyond the call of duty, there are still those few that operate at the opposite end of the spectrum by mistreating their workforce and/or conducting business outside of the law. These must be dealt with, and the government's announcement that it will be conducting raids on rogue cleaning firms that exploit illegal immigrants this autumn is very welcome news. 

 

The time is right to get tougher with those that give the cleaning industry a bad name, as well as to applaud those that make us proud to be a part of it.