Caretaker Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Caretaker

Hours

37 per week
Starting salary

£12,000 + per year

Caretakers look after buildings such as schools, community centres and flats. They make sure the buildings are secure, clean and well-maintained. If you like fixing things and enjoy DIY, you might consider becoming a caretaker.

To become a caretaker, you will need practical skills to carry out minor repairs. You’ll need to be able to manage your own workload. You’ll also need a good awareness of health, safety, security and hygiene issues.

Your skills and ability to do the job will often be more important than qualifications. Practical skills such as woodwork and DIY would be useful. It could also be an advantage if you have relevant work experience. You would need Criminal Records Bureau clearance to work in schools.

The work

Your tasks as a caretaker would vary depending on the particular job, but could include:

supervising cleaning staff
carrying out small repairs and reporting major problems
making sure that heating, lighting and alarm systems are working effectively
making sure that doors and windows are locked when the building is not in use
checking the premises to guard against vandalism or break-ins
opening up the building in the morning and locking it at the end of the day
arranging chairs and tables for meetings and clearing away afterwards
ordering fuel, new equipment and furniture
taking bookings if rooms in the building are available for hire.

You could be employed as a mobile caretaker, responsible for several different sites.

Hours

You might work up to 37 hours a week, which could include early mornings, evenings and weekends. In many jobs you could work fewer hours but have split shifts, covering early mornings and evenings with time off during the day.

As a mobile caretaker, you would work from a specially equipped van.

Some of your work could be physically demanding and involve lifting. You may also need to work at heights, using ladders.

Income

Salaries can start at around £12,000 a year.

Senior caretakers can earn £20,000 or more a year.

Occasionally subsidised or free accommodation is part of the employment package.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

Your skills and ability to do the job will often be more important than qualifications. Practical skills such as woodwork and DIY would be useful. It could also be an advantage if you have relevant work experience, perhaps as a porter or cleaner, or from maintenance or security work.

You would need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance to work in schools.

Criminal Records Bureau (Home Office website)

Training and development

Once you start work you will receive on-the-job training, usually under the supervision of an experienced colleague.

You may be able to complete the following qualifications:

NVQ Level 2 in Cleaning and Support Services
Certificate in Skills for Supporting Public Services (awarded by NOCN and NCFE)
Level 3 in Facilities Management from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)
Level 3 in Housekeeping offered by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) including the following options: Caretaking and Concierge Services and Supported Housing.

You could also study by distance learning for the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Level 3 Certificate in Housing, which includes the following options:

Caretaking and Concierge Services
Supported Housing.

You can find details of these on the CIH website.

Skills and knowledge

To become a caretaker, you will need:

practical skills to carry out minor repairs
the ability to manage your own workload
the ability to supervise cleaning staff and manage contractors
awareness of health, safety, security and hygiene issues.

More information

LGcareers (Opens new window)
www.lgcareers.com

Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) (Opens new window)
Octavia House
Westwood Business Park
Westwood Way
Coventry
CV4 8JP
Tel: 024 7685 1700
www.cih.org

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
Careers Advice: careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

Opportunities

You could be employed as a caretaker by organisations such as local authorities, churches, housing associations and large companies. Look out for vacancies in local newspapers and Jobcentre Plus offices.

In some places, such as large schools and office blocks, you might work in a team with several other caretakers. With experience, you could have the opportunity to become a supervisor or you could move into cleaning management. Both options could offer a route into facilities management.

You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The cleaning and support services industry is part of the facilities management, housing, property, planning, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The cleaning and support services industry covers all forms of contract cleaning including: building interiors; transport vehicles; food premises; window and facade cleaning; highways and land; plus carpets and upholstery.

Key facts:

The UK market for contract cleaning is estimated to be £5.6 billion.
There are around 448,400 people working in the industry in just over 32,000 companies.
Migrant workers make up 37% of the English cleaning workforce.
86% of all cleaning companies have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry range from: cleaner, supervisor, caretaker, window cleaner, upholstery cleaner, highways and street cleaner, food premises cleaner, crime scene cleaner, manager, pest control technician.

National and regional data

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of cleaning sector employees in each of the nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	22,000	In comparison with other English regions, the East Midlands has a high proportion (23%) of its workforce between the ages 16‐24
East Of England	45,800	The majority of the cleaning workforce (91%) in the East of England is aged over 25
London	110,200	London is the largest employer of the cleaning industry at 28%
North East	16,700	The North East employs 4% of the cleaning workforce
North West	47,100	The North West has a similar profile to the UK. The workforce is 58% female and the majority (56%) work on a part‐time basis
South East	64,600	After London, the South East is the second highest employer of the cleaning workforce at 16%
South West	27,700	A significant proportion of the cleaning workforce in the South West is female (62%)
West Midlands	24,800	A high proportion of the cleaning workforce in the West Midlands is employed on a full‐time basis (55%)
Yorkshire & the Humber	24,100	The workforce in the Yorkshire and Humber region is predominately male (59%)
Northern Ireland	9,100*	The majority of the workforce in the cleaning industry in Northern Ireland (74%) is aged 25 and over. A higher than average proportion of the workforce is female (67%)
Scotland	42,400	Scotland employs 9% of the UK cleaning workforce, with 52% employed on a part‐time basis
Wales	12,900	Wales employs 3% of the UK cleaning workforce, with a significantly high proportion employed on a part‐time basis (60%)