The Standard Issue 4 2023

THE CHAIRMAN'S HELLO:
STARTING WITH A SPARKLE
BY SOO BARTHOLOMEW MBICSc
This is my first report to
you as Chairman of this
great Institute and it is with
tremendous pride that I sit
here writing it. For those
of you who know me, you
are, I hope, aware that I
am passionate about the
industry, having worked
my way up the ladder
from the days when I was
a cleaning operative at
a small primary school in
Berkshire to now working
as the Technical Director
with the leading innovative,
technology-led company in
the industry.
The role of the cleaning operative,
their safety, training, career
pathway and recognition of their
role is very much at the forefront
of my thoughts when I am at work,
but how we go about achieving
this is multi-faceted and it is with
this in my mind I am sharing some
excerpts of my first speech as the
Chairman from our Awards event in
September, as I am aware that not
all of you were able to attend.
Our industry challenges us every
day, from maintaining clean and
hygienic spaces in which to work,
play and live in, staffing, vetting,
training and lastly, managing all of
this. We cannot do it without all of
the wheels and cogs turning in the
right direction at the right time, so
with that train of thought, I would
like BICSc to promote and engage
with all levels and all areas of
our industry.
I believe that the greatest challenge
is to educate those who sit outside
of the industry in the level of skills
that are needed to deliver clean and
hygienic spaces and that while in
the past these have been perceived
as menial tasks, they are in fact
tasks that require a higher level of
skill and understanding.
I am so pleased to see that the
Apprenticeship scheme is now at
the final sign off stage, but we must
not stop there. Now that we have
the apprenticeship scheme, we
need to ensure that we have good
take-up, to guarantee that we use it
and don’t lose it.
I would like BICSc to engage with
all the various trade bodies to
ensure we share our knowledge,
best practices and, as BICSc, we
ensure we develop the courses and
the training that
delivers the skills
to the operatives,
supervisors,
and managers
of the future.
Allowing us
all to gain the
recognition from
everyone, that the
cleaning industry
is truly a skilled
industry not just
in the delivery of
cleaning, but in
sales, accounting,
HR, health and
safety, and
compliance among
other crucial areas.
For our part, BICSc now has
training modules accessible online,
which helps reduce the time that
operatives and managers need to
spend away from their day-to-day
activities. We want to develop these
further to ensure we are delivering
the knowledge and skills base the
industry needs to move forward
alongside the innovation that is now
rapidly emerging.
We will be looking to set-up
workshops and webinars to ask you
all what you would like to see from
us and how we can enhance our
offering to ensure that BICSc can
meet all your future needs. I very
much look forward to seeing you
at these.
Soo
SOO BARTHOLOMEW
National Chairman
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