The cleaning industry has immense potential to reduce the staggeringly high unemployment among young people in South Africa. However, a mindset change is required to de-stigmatise the sector and to showcase the infinite possibilities for career growth and opportunities.

Young people bear the brunt of unemployment in South Africa. According to Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate was 63,9% for those aged 15-24 and 42,1% for those aged 25-34 years, while the current official national rate stands at 34,5%.

“We need to explore opportunities in which to absorb these young people into the work environment. The cleaning industry is one of the country’s biggest employers and presents opportunities of entry into the workplace for youth,” says Billy Wiggill, Managing Director, Servest Cleaning. 

He continues: “One of the biggest challenges that the country faces is that young people perceive cleaning as a low-level job and ‘uncool’. Instead, what they need to be looking at is the prospects for growth presented by the sector and what they could become within these roles, instead of where they start. If we can achieve that mindset shift more could be done in bringing down the high unemployment rate among youngsters.”

According to a recent CareerJunction Employment Insights report, the cleaning industry is one of the sectors driving the trending increase in employment opportunities. Jobseekers within the cleaning sector have also been experiencing improved employment prospects since the beginning of the year. 

Young people carry the biggest unemployment burden, and this is exacerbated by their vulnerability in the workplace, as they are employed in sectors that are very sensitive to economic upheavals. For example, many of the youth lost their jobs in the retail and entertainment sector due to a halt in commercial activity precipitated by the nationwide lockdown. Wiggill also points out that younger employees with less experience and fewer years of service faced a greater incidence of job loss due to retrenchments. 

Wiggill points out that the cleaning industry presents career advancement opportunities that many young people are unaware of.  

“We need to get more youth into these roles and create an understanding of the diverse opportunities available in the sector. There are countless opportunities for growth in this space, including specialisation in industry sectors such as mining, healthcare, and manufacturing. While working, they can explore growth, continuous learning, and upskilling opportunities,” says Wiggill.

He says that minimum barriers to entry in the cleaning industry is one of its attractive value propositions. Prospective employees are only required to have a Matric certificate, which is supplemented by mandatory on-the-job training in line with industry practices, to enable entrants to perform their duties and understand the Standard Operating Procedures. 

“Facilities management companies and cleaning services businesses should be investing in training personnel without formal training for formal roles in the cleaning industry. There is a need to place value in knowledge to ensure that cleaning staff can respond to the dynamic needs of the industry and evolving innovations,” says Wiggill.