Westminster City Council has always been passionate about supporting local communities and helping vulnerable Westminster residents find long-term employment opportunities.
As part of our efforts, we launched the Road to Work programme in 2017 in partnership with Veolia. Its goal is to engage with local charities and homeless shelters in order to recruit candidates looking to find employment. The programme combines specialised support services (like counselling, housing and advice) with flexible workplace arrangements. To date, we have interviewed over 150 people, 12 of whom are currently under a long-term work contract.
Expanding the Road to Work programme
As getting back into work can be a difficult commitment for some of the recruits, we have recently taken the necessary extra steps to help them stick to their new working routine. Our Road to Work Mentor regularly checks in on the wellbeing of the recruits and creates an open and supportive environment for them to raise any issues or concerns. For this reason, we have seen an uplift in the number of workers staying on contract.
While the majority of the positions offered to candidates are street cleansing or admin roles, we have recently launched a three-month initiative employing Social Distancing Ambassadors in the West End to help reopen the city. Employed locally within Westminster, these Ambassadors are responsible for filling hand-sanitising stations, ensuring people are social distancing and handing out PPE to visitors.
Looking to the future
Aside from street cleansing operations, Veolia is looking to create six new apprenticeship positions (e.g. HGV drivers) through the Road to Work programme. This will offer the guidance and resources candidates need to be successful in their roles. Once employed, the recruits will then have access to a full range of training and development opportunities.
While the primary focus is currently on helping the local community and offering positions to Westminster residents, a future goal is to widen the scope and scale of the programme to outside communities, helping even more homeless people back into work.
How you can help keep Westminster’s streets clean
Providing your visitors, customers, guests and staff with a welcoming environment is of great importance (this includes any hard standing areas around your premises). Unfortunately, due to Westminster’s heavily populated and high-traffic environment, it can quickly become dirty and grimy from oil staining, fast food, rubbish, chewing gum, pedestrian traffic and air pollution if not regularly looked after.
Providing commercial waste and recycling collection services is only part of what we do to help local businesses.
With our standard street cleansing operations, we sweep every street in Westminster multiple times a day and ensure the West End is kept clean on a 24-hour basis. We clean public spaces, monuments and structures to an extremely high standard. Street cleansing is not just about sweeping; we also wash and disinfect hard standing areas as well as empty litter bins and clear any fly-tipped waste.
See what a difference deep cleaning can make to the outer appearance of your place of business.
Apart from these standard services, we offer additional specialist deep cleaning services for individual businesses. We can look after those areas that are not cleaned through the standard street cleansing service, such as forecourts, steps and loading bays. With these additional services, we do a thorough clean of the areas around your premises, from hot washing and pressure washing to chewing gum and stain removal.
The staff who work on the deep cleansing service often come from our Road to Work scheme. Using the additional cleansing service not only helps your business looking its best, but it also helps vulnerable members of the Westminster community with steady employment.
What else does our deep cleaning service offer?
- A competitive price
- A personal visit to generate a tailored quote fitted to your needs
- A service at a time that suits you (we work 24/7)
- An environmentally friendly service (no chemicals)
- A discount for regularly scheduled work
We know how to make sure your business’ surroundings look their best by using cleaning techniques suited to your circumstances. Contact us today for a consultation.
