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How much is the cleaning industry worth to the UK?

The UK is home to many thriving industries. However, with Brexit looming, the hospitality industry has become more and more concerned over how this will impact their workforce. After all, a study from the Office for National Statistics stated that around 25 per cent of cleaning staff are from abroad; leaving the EU could indeed have a knock-on impact to our employee numbers.

Just how much is the industry contributing to the UK, and will that contribution fall if it becomes more difficult to hire workers from overseas? One shot drain cleaner supplier, Fulcare, investigates.

The value of the cleaning industry

The UK is the fifth highest country in terms of the number of employees it has in its cleaning services. With around 448,400 people working in the sector, the industry holds an estimated market value of £7 billion. Beyond a financial value, the cleaning industry is considered to be one that will always be in-demand — after all, cleaning is a necessity across all other industries.

Brexit — the eternal question for industries

The average amount of non-British workers across UK industries is around 18 per cent, but for the cleaning sector, it’s closer to 25 per cent. There is, therefore, a real concern regarding the potential impact Brexit could have upon the cleaning industry.

One owner of a UK cleaning company spoke anonymously to the Guardian at the start of the year, citing their concerns regarding the staffing issue Brexit could present:

‘For EU migrants, cleaning is often a stepping stone to a better job […] Several good workers have left to go back to their countries but there are none to take their place because far fewer people are coming to the UK to work.’

The jobs are not easily filled by native UK workers either, despite the 1.38 million unemployed within the country looking for work. The industry is often shackled to a dated and damaging concept, resulting in many people not looking at the industry in terms of a career choice.

There are, then, two main routes to consider (or indeed, a combination of the two). One, that whatever agreement is made in regard to Brexit, that non-British workers are still able to work without too much additional paperwork and red tape to navigate. The cleaning industry already felt that the process of hiring EU workers ought to be made easier (82 per cent). If moving to the UK to offer skills and trade becomes more trouble than it is really worth, we’re likely to see more people simply not looking at the UK as a worthwhile place to work anymore.

Another route is to revamp the image of cleaning work within the UK, to make it more appealing to those seeking employment. Many cleaning companies are already making viable efforts to do this — with 30 per cent investing in training and retention efforts for their current workforce.

The UK’s cleaning industry is undeniably one of the most valuable sectors in our economy, and it remains to be seen how it would flourish or wilt beneath Brexit later this year.

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