Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Toilet attendant to building cleaner

A toilet attendant already meets 34% of what the building cleaner role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From toilet attendant
34 % overlap
Distant match
To building cleaner
13 You already bring
13 Still to learn
53 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

72.4/ 100

1 How much of what a building cleaner is expected to do is already part of a toilet attendant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the building cleaner role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A building cleaner role treats 11 of its required skills as things a toilet attendant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • clean glass surfaces
  • cleaning industry health and safety measures
  • follow organisational guidelines in the cleaning industry
  • handle chemical cleaning agents
  • inform on toilet facilities malfunctions
  • maintain cleaning equipment

What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A building cleaner role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a toilet attendant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held inform on toilet facilities malfunctions communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held supervise the work of cleaning staff management skills
  • already held manage routine waste handling and moving
  • already held follow organisational guidelines in the cleaning industry assisting and caring
  • already held restock toilet facilities' supplies handling and moving
  • already held clean toilet facilities handling and moving

All 13 carried skills, including the 11 the building cleaner role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 40 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 handling and moving 10 required, 14 supplementary
  • still to learn arrange furniture required
  • still to learn operate janitorial tools required
  • still to learn clean particular areas manually required
  • still to learn maintain personal hygiene standards when cleaning required
  • still to learn remove dust required
  • still to learn clean building facade required
  • still to learn clean building floors required
  • still to learn clean surfaces required
  • still to learn operate floor cleaning equipment required
  • still to learn sort waste required
  • optional, not held dispose food waste optional
  • optional, not held perform ground maintenance activities optional
  • optional, not held perform weed control operations optional
  • optional, not held provide lawn care optional
  • optional, not held remove snow optional
  • optional, not held spray pesticides optional
  • optional, not held use snow-removal equipment optional
  • optional, not held carry out pressure washing activities optional
  • optional, not held clean furniture optional
  • optional, not held clean rooms optional
  • optional, not held clean wood surface optional
  • optional, not held disinfect surfaces optional
  • optional, not held dispose medical waste optional
  • optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
02 assisting and caring 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn maintain facility security systems required
  • optional, not held perform pest control optional
  • optional, not held follow safety procedures when working at heights optional
03 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn report major building repairs required
  • optional, not held monitor building security optional
04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required
  • still to learn perform minor repairs to buildings' systems required
05 services 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held lawn care optional
  • optional, not held snow removal safety hazards optional
  • optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
  • optional, not held hygiene in a health care setting optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held hardware, plumbing and heating equipment products optional
  • optional, not held locking mechanisms optional
  • optional, not held wood preservation optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a building cleaner role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held clean glass surfaces skill
  • already held cleaning industry health and safety measures knowledge
  • already held follow organisational guidelines in the cleaning industry skill
  • already held handle chemical cleaning agents skill
  • already held inform on toilet facilities malfunctions skill
  • already held maintain cleaning equipment skill
  • already held maintain inventory of cleaning supplies skill
  • already held manage routine waste skill
  • already held perform cleaning activities in an environmentally friendly way skill
  • already held perform cleaning duties skill
  • already held restock toilet facilities' supplies skill
  • already held clean toilet facilities skill
  • already held supervise the work of cleaning staff skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held communicate with waste collectors optional
  • optional, not held perform procurement processes optional
08 health and welfare 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
27 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held dispose food waste optional
  • optional, not held hardware, plumbing and heating equipment products optional
  • optional, not held lawn care optional
  • optional, not held locking mechanisms optional
  • optional, not held monitor building security optional
  • optional, not held perform ground maintenance activities optional
  • optional, not held perform pest control optional
  • optional, not held perform weed control operations optional
  • optional, not held provide lawn care optional
  • optional, not held remove snow optional
  • optional, not held snow removal safety hazards optional
  • optional, not held spray pesticides optional
  • optional, not held use snow-removal equipment optional
  • optional, not held wood preservation optional
  • optional, not held carry out pressure washing activities optional
  • optional, not held clean furniture optional
  • optional, not held clean rooms optional
  • optional, not held clean wood surface optional
  • optional, not held communicate with waste collectors optional
  • optional, not held disinfect surfaces optional
  • optional, not held dispose medical waste optional
  • optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
  • optional, not held follow safety procedures when working at heights optional
  • optional, not held hygiene in a health care setting optional
  • optional, not held perform procurement processes optional
  • optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
9 held skills the building cleaner role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role clean public areas skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role complete report sheets of activity skill
  • not needed by the target role determine charges for customer services skill
  • not needed by the target role greet guests skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain customer service skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain professional administration skill
  • not needed by the target role personal protective equipment knowledge
  • not needed by the target role report on customers' complaints related to toilet facilities skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held hardware, plumbing and heating equipment products optional
  • optional, not held lawn care optional
  • optional, not held locking mechanisms optional
  • optional, not held snow removal safety hazards optional
  • optional, not held wood preservation optional
  • optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
  • optional, not held hygiene in a health care setting optional
  • optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a toilet attendant become a building cleaner?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A toilet attendant already covers 34% of what a building cleaner is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 11 of which the building cleaner role treats as required.

What skills does a toilet attendant need to become a building cleaner?

13 required skills are missing, plus 27 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is arrange furniture.

How hard is the move from toilet attendant to building cleaner?

Its learning distance is 72.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.