Highways cleaner Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Highways cleaner

Hours

37-40 per week
Starting salary

£12,000 + per year

The work

Highways cleaners help to keep towns and cities pleasant and safe by making sure streets, and other public areas, like subways, are clean and free of litter and rubbish.

As a highways cleaner your work would include:

using cleaning vehicles and machines, and hand tools such as brushes
clearing drains and gullies
using a pressure washer to clean paved areas
removing litter, graffiti and fly posters
using specialist machines to remove chewing gum from pavements
cleaning equipment at the end of each day.

You would usually work as part of a team responsible for a particular area of a town or city.

Hours

You will usually work 37 to 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday, starting at around 7am or earlier. You may work overtime after public events such as football matches or concerts.

You must be prepared to work outside in all kinds of weather, and be able to do a lot of walking and lifting.

You will be provided with protective clothing, such as waterproofs, overalls, gloves and high-visibility jackets.

Income

Average salaries for highways cleaners are between £12,000 and around £16,000 a year.

You may be paid more if you work in London or other large cities.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You must be at least 18, and will need a driving licence if you drive sweeping vehicles.

For the biggest vehicles you will need a large goods vehicle (LGV) licence.

Training and development

Once you start work, you will receive on-the-job training in health and safety and the use of cleaning equipment.

You could also complete any of the following relevent qualifications:

NVQ 1 and 2 in Cleaning and Support Services Skills
City & Guilds/British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICS) Level 2 Certificate in Cleaning Science
BICS Cleaning Operators Proficiency Certificate (COPC).

Skills and knowledge

reliability and good timekeeping
the ability to work on your own and as part of a team
a good level of physical fitness
understanding of health, safety and hygiene regulations.

More information

British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICS) (Opens new window)
9 Premier Court
Boarden Close
Moulton Park
Northampton
NN3 6LF
Tel: 01604 678710
www.bics.org.uk

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 would usually work for local councils, or companies contracted to provide cleaning services for the councils. Look out for vacancies advertised in local newspapers and jobcentres, and on the Local Government jobs website.

Local Government jobs

As you gain experience, and perhaps qualifications, you could progress to become a supervisor or manager.

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%)