jobfacts

Industrial cleaner

Industrial cleaning process occupations — SOC 2020 9131

Industrial cleaning process occupations clean manufactured goods, plant and machinery, industrial premises and building exteriors.

Also calledCommercial cleanerTrain cleanerCleanerBasket washerIncinerator operatorMaintenance cleanerand 111 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,3002025 Provisional
People in the job48,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month1,400↑ 38%on last year · 138th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time industrial cleaners earn between £25,200 and £31,700 a year.

What full-time industrial cleaners earn, 2025
£27,300 typical£22,900lowest 10%£25,20025%£31,70075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,200–£31,700)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£22,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,600
25%£25,200
Median£27,300
75%£31,700
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,300
East Midlands!£28,800
London!£28,100
Scotland!£27,300
West Midlands!£27,300
Yorkshire and The Humber!£26,700
South West!£26,400
Wales!£25,600
East of England!£25,300
North West!£23,800
North EastNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £27,300
East Midlands£28,800 (small sample)
London£28,100 (small sample)
Scotland£27,300 (small sample)
West Midlands£27,300 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,700 (small sample)
South West£26,400 (small sample)
Wales£25,600 (small sample)
East of England£25,300 (small sample)
North West£23,800 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,900
  • 2024 £25,600
  • 2025 Provisional£27,300
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,400 jobs for industrial cleaners are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026Not published
Jul 20264,636
Jun 20261,452
May 20261,155
Apr 20261,064
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026948
Jan 2026951
Dec 2025473
Nov 20251,087
Oct 20251,344
Sept 20251,295
Aug 20251,231
Jul 20251,181
Jun 20251,135
May 20251,197
Apr 20251,063
Mar 20251,143
Feb 20251,092
Jan 2025933
Dec 2024535
Nov 2024906
Oct 20241,142
Sept 20241,277
Aug 20241,308
Jul 20241,364
Jun 20241,203
May 20241,273
Apr 20241,076
Mar 2024780
Feb 2024780
Jan 2024905
Dec 2023583
Nov 2023636
Oct 2023639
Sept 2023676
Aug 2023845
Jul 2023858
Jun 20231,330
May 20231,234
Apr 2023926
Mar 20231,065
Feb 2023974
Jan 20231,395
Dec 20221,001
Nov 20221,375
Oct 20221,519
Sept 20221,536
Aug 20221,546
Jul 20221,477
Jun 20221,436
May 20221,520
Apr 20221,278
Mar 20221,490
Feb 20221,429
Jan 20221,709
Dec 20211,285
Nov 20211,601
Oct 20211,640
Sept 20211,688
Aug 20211,555
Jul 20211,732
Jun 20211,522
May 20211,281
Apr 20211,169
Mar 20211,332
Feb 2021812
Jan 2021875
Dec 2020814
Nov 2020998
Oct 20201,308
Sept 20201,336
Aug 20201,028
Jul 2020891
Jun 2020728
May 2020599
Apr 2020797
Mar 20201,012
Feb 20201,029
Jan 2020930
Dec 2019666
Nov 20191,070
Oct 2019981
Sept 20191,000
Aug 20191,017
Jul 20191,093
Jun 20191,185
May 20191,112
Apr 2019695
Mar 2019830
Feb 2019814
Jan 2019921
Dec 2018497
Nov 2018786
Oct 2018894
Sept 20181,020
Aug 2018963
Jul 2018935
Jun 2018924
May 2018743
Apr 2018740
Mar 2018775
Feb 2018733
Jan 2018800
Dec 2017457
Nov 2017763
Oct 2017850
Sept 2017977
Aug 20171,023
Jul 2017991
Jun 2017980
May 20171,043
Apr 2017898
Mar 2017921
Feb 2017745
Jan 2017726
Is there a shortage of industrial cleaners?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hours worked, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
29%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary process plant occupations, which includes industrial cleaners. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London253
Somerset62
South Oxfordshire55
North Yorkshire52
Manchester48
Bristol, City of44
North Northamptonshire43
Wiltshire41
Buckinghamshire38
Fife36
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where industrial cleaners are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of industrial cleaners
18%!
27%!
8%!
18%!
22%!
7.7%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2418% (small sample)
25–3427% (small sample)
35–448% (small sample)
45–5418% (small sample)
55–6422% (small sample)
65+7.7% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!14%
Higher education below degree!7.9%
A levels or equivalent!9.8%
GCSEs or equivalent25%
Other qualifications!18%
No qualifications!21%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent14% (small sample)
Higher education below degree7.9% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent9.8% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent25%
Other qualifications18% (small sample)
No qualifications21% (small sample)

Main employers: general cleaning of buildings (17%), service activities incidental to air transportation (9.8%), restaurants and mobile food service activities (2.9%), beverage serving activities (2.4%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
14%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 25%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job.

Relevant courses include:

  • cleaning
  • cleaning principles
  • cleaning and support services
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could specialise in working in hospitals and medical centres by applying to do a Cleaning Hygiene Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

This apprenticeship takes around 1 year to complete and combines on-the-job training with study off site.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Other ways in

Apply directly

You can apply directly for jobs. There are no set requirements but previous cleaning experience can be useful.

Other routes

You could do specialist training through The British Institute of Cleaning Science.

What you’ll need

  • be able to cope with working at height

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on a construction site
Career tips

A driving licence will be useful for some jobs, as you may need to travel to different sites.

If you work as a window cleaner on tall buildings like office blocks, it may help to have done training in rope access work or operating a mobile platform.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in industrial cleaning from The British Institute of Cleaning Science.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for industrial cleaner. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • uses industrial hoovering, polishing, pressure washer, steam cleaning and sandblasting equipment to clean industrial premises and building exteriors
  • dismantles engines, boilers, furnaces and other industrial plant and machinery, cleans component parts and reassembles equipment
  • washes, rinses, dries and cleans manufactured goods, and stacks cleaned articles ready for removal

Skills

  • clean equipment
  • wear appropriate protective gear
  • use power tools
  • apply health and safety standards
  • calculate materials
  • clean building floors
  • clean surfaces
  • ensure integrity of hull
  • ensure vessel compliance with regulations
  • handle chemicals
  • maintain work area cleanliness
  • supply machine
  • supply machine with appropriate tools
  • align components

Knowledge

  • cleaning products
  • cleaning techniques
  • industrial tools
  • traditional wood caulking materials
  • types of wood
  • wood caulking processes
  • quality standards

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary trades and related occupations, a group of 8 jobs that includes industrial cleaners.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 21%about 97,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 203556,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.