Speech by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, at the presentation of Fás Trainer Proficiency awards for the Contract Cleaning Industry

Pavillion Restaurant, Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on Friday, 7 December, 2001 at 12.00p.m.

Thank you for the invitation to join you here today at this awards ceremony.

Today's function marks the recognition by FÁS of the award recipients, who are employed in the Contract Cleaning Industry, as accredited trainers. I want to start by congratulating all of you who are receiving awards today and acknowledge your companies' support in your wonderful achievements.

In my view, this is a milestone in terms of the progress of the Contract Cleaning Industry which gives a clear signal as to how the industry must develop over the coming years. I'll explain what I mean.

Up to the time some three years ago that the the Contract Cleaning Industry met with FÁS to discuss training issues, it had no tradition of providing significant training. Indeed it is fair to say that research at the time confirmed that very little training activity was taking place in the industry at all.

It was agreed at that stage that FÁS, in conjunction with the Industry and the relevant Trade Unions, should develop and implement industry-led and standards-based training for the Contract Cleaning Industry. In effect this meant the establishment of an integrated training programme for the Industry, incorporating recognisedcertification and avenues of progression for all employment levels.

Today's event provides tangible evidence that these policies are being made a reality, because the fifty trainers whose achievements have resulted in today's awards, have pursued courses and received qualifications and accreditation from the Institute of Cleaning Science for their technical skills, and from the National University of Ireland at Maynooth with respect to their training competencies.

Another fifty employees of the industry have already set out to achieve these qualifications, as result of which by early next year, up to 100 fully qualified trainers, specifically trained for the sector's needs, will be operating in the Cleaning Industry.

This ensures that the Contract Cleaning Industry will have, "in house" resources of this magnitude to carry out training.

I strongly urge the industry to grasp this opportunity with both hands and establish a training function and utilise the skills and expertise of these trainers to impart vital training to their workforce. This would be facilitated and complemented by the planned initiative by FAS, in conjunction with the industry, to run a series of courses that will provide the specialised skills and knowledge required to become training assessors. These assessors will ensure that high level, effective training is taking place as part of the industry's own in-house training schemes.

There are many compelling reasons to engage in training. Your workforce is central to the success of your business and training is a way of sending a clear message of their importance to employees. Also, there are health and safety considerations which are relevant to your industry and which need to be addressed by training. Another incentive for up-skilling employees is to enable you to compete at the top end of the market where highly technical skills are required, for example for computer and Integrated Circuit "cleanrooms" or where bacteria-free conditions have to be maintained and certified.

If all of this does not convince you maybe you will be persuaded by OECD research which clearly shows that everyone wins with high quality training. This is how:

• First the national economy benefits through increased economic growth. Here the research shows that up to 25% of the total of economic growth can be attributed to higher skills.
• Secondly, companies also benefit from a highly skilled workforce. This benefit comes through increased value added, higher productivity, better customer satisfaction and reduced levels of staff turnover.
• Thirdly, individuals benefit in a number of significant ways and these are: better wages, more job satisfaction and increased job security. We must keep in mind that poorly trained people are four times more likely to be unemployed than their better-trained counterparts.

I must say, however, that, to the industry's credit, a good deal of progress has been made by it over a relatively short period of time and this should be built upon. I am thinking in particular of some of the initiatives in the training area in which it has been involved, in association with FÁS such as

• - the series of nation-wide Health & Safety Training programmes for the Cleaning Sector which were operated in 1999 and 2000 where more than 250 staff, mainly supervisors and operatives, benefited from this specialised training, and
• - the acceptance by the Irish Contract Cleaning Association of the FÁS recommendation that all those working in the industry should be provided with the "Health & Safety Training booklet for the Cleaning Industry in 2000" which was produced by FÁS in co-operation with the HAS and of which more than 25,000 copies have been distributed.

Today more than 30,000 people are employed in the Irish Contract Cleaning Industry and a further 14,000 are employed as "direct hire" cleaning operatives/supervisors in other industries. It provides suitable employment opportunities for a large segment of the labour pool, who because of their personal circumstances would have difficulty with more conventional hours of employment and it provides a very necessary service. Economically, it generates an estimated £150 to £180 of added value. The Contract Cleaning Industry, therefore, is important in social and economic terms and is a significant player in Irish life. In that capacity, and as converts to human resource development, I would like you as an Industry to ponder the idea of setting your sights on seeking the FAS Excellence through People standard for company training. This would obviously take time, but it would give you the incentive to train and develop your employees to the point where "Excellence" is a realistic target to aim for. Acquiring that standard would put you up with the best of the companies not just in Ireland, but across the European Union.

So now I come to the reason we are here today, to celebrate and congratulate the first group of fully qualified trainers for the Irish contract cleaning industry. Before presenting the awards I would like to take the opportunity to say a few words - first to the trainers and then to the recipients. The specialist trainers who worked with FAS were the College of Cleaning Science and the NUI at Maynooth. We must acknowledge the great work which these trainers put in, the way in which they accommodated the individual needs of the participants and their all-round professionalism.

To the award winners I want to say that there is great credit due to you on a wonderful achievement. You have proved your ability to succeed in this endeavour, even though you and your companies might have had certain misgivings and apprehensions at the outset.

This is a unique occasion, - it's the first time the contract cleaning industry has had trainers developed to this level.

As new trainers you now have two professional qualifications; the Institute of Cleaning Science certifies your technical skills and the National University of Ireland at Maynooth your training competencies. It is important to say that these are the same standards as those required of commercial trainers.

Now that you have achieved these levels of qualification you should consider building further on them, to attain higher levels of technical or trainer proficiency. You have already demonstrated that you are capable of doing so.

The Certificate in Training NUI Maynooth allows for progression to diploma and degree level. It would be wonderful to see a number of you following this route. I'm pleased to say that FAS is setting up a bursary scheme to encourage this.

A final word to employers, please remember that your trainers are newly qualified and will need both the opportunity and the support to perform at their best.

So, once again congratulations and well done to each individual recipient, their families and their companies on a great achievement.