Most industries in the UK have an official trade body.
Trade bodies represent the interests of their members and provide a voice for the industry in the media. But the most important role of trade bodies is to provide valuable support and advice to their members and develop industry standards and best practices that they expect their members to adhere to.
The trade body of the UK cleaning industry is called BICSc, which stands for The British Institute of Cleaning Science.
BICSc set the standards and best practices for the cleaning industry in the UK.
What is the history of BICSc, and what does BICSc do?
BICSc was founded in 1961 by Eric Hill and a small group of like-minded people.
At the time, there were trade bodies for many other industries in the UK – but not cleaning.
BICSc was set up to raise the profile of the cleaning industry, give the profession a voice, and establish agreed sets of cleaning standards.
Over the last 60+ years, BICSc has grown to a network of over 45,000 members across the UK.
BICSc accreditation isn’t available for everyone though.
Applicants need to complete official training and a face-to-face assessment before they become certified and receive their ‘License to Practice’.
BICSc support their accredited members in the UK cleaning industry by delivering:
- Access to the BICSc Standards and Best Practice Guidelines
- Training courses and workshops
- A Technical Helpdesk where members can receive expert advice (available to corporate and accredited training partners)
- Regular copies of newsletters and industry magazines to keep members up-to-date on the UK cleaning industry.
- Access to cleaning industry events throughout the year
- Discounts on leading cleaning products
What are the benefits of BICSc for customers of cleaning companies?
It’s estimated that dirty and unhygienic workplaces cost employers £1.56bn per year due to staff illness.
With this is mind, it’s important that you choose a cleaning partner that you can trust to deliver a high quality clean.
All BICSc accredited members have been through comprehensive training, passed a face-to-face assessment, and are held to the highest quality standards.
If your cleaning company has a BICSc accreditation, you can have the peace of mind that they follow best industry practices and will deliver a high quality and professional clean.
Our in house BICSc Trainer and Members
What are the different levels of membership to BICSc?
There are three levels of membership to BICSc.
Individual Membership
This membership is issued to a single individual only, and has three tiers:
- PBICSc
This is the entry grade of membership. It is issued to people who have completed their ‘License to Practice’ through BICSc.
- ABICSc
If an individual has been working in the cleaning industry for more than 12 months and has completed a set number of ‘skills’ through the official BICSc Skills Suite, they are eligible to move up to this next grade of membership.
- MBICSc
The highest grade of individual membership is reserved for people who have spent more than 5 years in management within the cleaning industry.
Corporate Membership
By signing up to a corporate membership, a business is able to use the BICSc logo on their website and promotional material.
This helps them to communicate their professionalism and adherence to best practice standards to customers.
Corporate members also receive access to the Technical Helpdesk, where experts in the cleaning industry are available to answer any questions that the business might have.
Accredited Training Membership
The most comprehensive form of membership to BICSc is the Accredited Training Membership.
An Accredited Training Member demonstrates their commitment to the standards and values of BICSc by making some of their own employees BICSc approved assessors.
These assessors are then able to provide BICSc accredited training to other employees within the organisation. This is a great way to ensure that the professional industry standards of BICSc are embraced across the company.
The Accredited Training Membership is not given out lightly.
To qualify, businesses need to meet strict criteria on their approach, premises and equipment. These are all assessed by an official BICSc verifier.
There are also annual audits for all Accredited Training Members, where companies need to demonstrate their compliance with BICSc standards over the last 12 months.
MCS Cleaning: A BICSc Accredited Training Member
At MCS Cleaning Services, servicing Berkshire and the Midlands, we are proud to have an Accredited Training Membership to BICSc.
We’re committed to upholding the high professional standards of BICSc, and our internal assessors have provided training to all new staff as well this year we are training all of our existing members of staff.
We now have a number of people within our business BICSc accredited, delivering the highest possible professional cleans to our customers.
If you’d like to know more about how our BICSc-accredited team can help your business, you can call us at 01530 382006 or send us an email. We’ll be happy to discuss your project and see how we can help you.
Need a bit more information before you make your decision? Download our brochure. It’s got all the information you need to assure you that MCS is the right choice for your business.
