Posted on 02/24/2024 11:32:57 AM PST by nickcarraway
A $580 basic toilet cleaning course on the SkillsFuture portal drew ridicule from netizens this week, but agencies said such classes are part of mandatory training requirements for cleaners.
In response to queries, SkillsFuture Singapore and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement on Feb 22 that these classes teach existing and prospective cleaners "essential skills" for the washing of restrooms.
The 20 or so such classes found on the SkillsFuture portal range from basic to advanced and take between 30 and 40 hours to complete.
Before subsidies, most basic courses cost between $100 and $600. After SkillsFuture subsidies, the course fees range from $100 to $300.
On Feb 19, a screengrab of a listing for the "Perform basic cleaning of washrooms" course on SkillsFuture was posted on social media and roundly mocked for its $580 price tag before subsidies.
Netizens doubted the need for such a course and criticised the steep cost of $290, even after subsidies.
Facebook user Remaesh Krishnan commented: "Those days in army, we clean our toilets. No need course."
But SkillsFuture and NEA said the course contributed significantly to the "professional development" of working cleaners.
In response to queries, a spokesman for one course provider, NTUC LearningHub, said these toilet cleaning courses aim to "professionalise the cleaning industry".
The basic course, for instance, covers skills like the proper use of cleaning tools, proper cleaning of sanitary fixtures and the safe handling of cleaning agents, he added.
Its toilet washing courses, which range from $288 to $440 after subsidies, are mostly targeted at cleaning firms that pay to enrol their employees, the spokesman said.
The courses are in line with the Progressive Wage Model, facilitating "sustained wage growth for lower-wage workers by skills development, increased productivity and higher service standards", he added.
The Progressive Wage Model is designed to improve the wages of Singapore's lowest-paid sectors.
A six-year salary increment schedule is set out for cleaners in tandem with training and skills acquisition on their part.
Incentives are also provided to cleaning companies to enrol the cleaners in their employ.
For instance, absentee payroll capped at $100,000 a year for each firm is available, said the SkillsFuture and NEA statement.
Employers who sponsor their employees under the Workfare Skills Support scheme are also eligible for absentee payroll at up to 95 per cent of their hourly basic salary, capped at $13 an hour, it added.
Licensed businesses which do not send all their cleaners for the required courses under enhanced training requirements may be fined up to $5,000 and face suspension or revocation of their licences.
Since the training requirements took effect on Dec 31, 2022, more than 500 cleaners have attended the basic toilet cleaning course.
Cleaning firms The Straits Times spoke to said job seekers who have completed such courses are viewed favourably, but certification is not a prerequisite for hiring.
Conrad Maintenance Services chief executive Raymond Ng said: "With the courses, there will be priority for them to join us as cleaners, but as long as they have experience or a willing-to-learn attitude, we will hire them, too."
New hires without certification will, in any case, be sent for the required training modules, said a spokesman for home cleaning firm SparkCleanz.
These modules - including the controversial basic toilet cleaning course - are "specifically designed to equip cleaners with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively, maintain hygiene standards and ensure a safe working environment", he added.
When asked for a reasonable price for the basic cleaning course, Mr Ng said anywhere between $250 and $350, though the sum should be fully subsidised by SkillsFuture credit.
Cleaner Sareswathy Mookiah, 52, who has been on the job for six years, said: "This kind of course, sooner or later, every company will send you."
She added that she has attended around five training courses without ever paying a cent.
In line with the Progressive Wage Model guidelines, toilet or restroom cleaners are paid more than general cleaners.
"This is attributed to the specialised nature of restroom cleaning, and the additional skills and attention to detail required for maintaining hygiene standards in these areas," said the SparkCleanz spokesman.
Under the current framework, all toilet or restroom cleaners now must be paid at least $1,795. By July 1, 2024, the amount must be at least $2,060. The salary must rise to at least $2,835 by July 1, 2028.
"A toilet so clean, you can lick it."
Rarely, rarely do we eat out or even do take out anymore. Just too expensive and we can often eat meals that are healthier and taste as good, if not better, than most restaurants.
They’ll even pay you while you are trained! 😀
No, you don’t trust that they learned the skill on YouTube. They learn the skill on a video ( doesn’t have to be YouTube). Then when they apply for the job you give them the equipment and watch them do it in real time. Inspect their results. Give constructive criticism and explanation as to why this or that is important - then watch them do it again. Trust, but verify. A small business can succeed in this field. A bigger business will probably have quality controls like supervisors who check in from time to time - necessary because the client will pull the contract if it’s not done right.
It’s not complicated work, but could be hard work to clean an entire building as a full time job. In any case it shouldn’t cost $560 to learn it. And that’s just for toilets. How much does mopping class cost? Sink cleaning? Dusting tables? Safety protocols? $560 to learn to clean toilets - that’s about a weeks pay, at least even here where minimum wage is $16.90 an hour. Pardon the pun but that stinks and smells, like a scam. A certificate course in toilet cleaning. Imagine if the state forced licensing.
It’s well worth it to get that certificate to hang on the wall in your office.
You can use it to check and see if anyone pays any attention to that stuff.
This sounds reasonable which is why you are not allowed to do that any more. At least in the states you are not. You can get sued at best and hauled into court on a variety of charges at worse. Lose your business license.
And the course is for the cleaning of the entire bathroom not just to toilet.
I would not be surprised to see a bathroom cleaning license being required by the government at some point. They make you get one to cut hair.
Are you saying that you have to hire candidates without knowing if they can actually do the job?
Yeah, but that includes the superior instructional capabilities of a drill sergeant whose total pay seems to run $60,000 - $90,000 per year, and there is the added benefit of extra instruction with no additional pay if you can't get it right. So, it's not exactly free to the taxpayer.
Which is why some companies are so big on "must have degree" or use a temp to hire service.
Acquaintance of mine wanted to hire someone for his handyman business. He was told that he could not take him on a job to test his skills because that would be looked at as trying to get free work out of him.
You also can not easily hire them just for the day to test them out. The paperwork is killer.
Sane, sensible solutions are squashed by the government, unions and civil rights lawyers.
Back when I was just starting out I went into a business and offered them one free day of labor to show that I did have the skills even if I did not have the piece of paper. Got the job too. Can't do that anymore.
Apparently, Jocko Willink’s first job upon reporting to his SEAL Team was to clean the toilets.
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