Custodians, commonly called janitors, have a position that is essential to public health. It is not a position that is considered glamorous or dignified. The title custodian generally refers to a janitor position located in a public institution like a jail, hospital, university, senior center, or school. Their primary responsibility revolves around ensuring the cleanliness of the building. This custodian job description will provide insight on what their specific responsibilities are, the skills that are important for them to have if there is a certain level of education and experience required, a typical working schedule, and the job outlook.
What Does a Custodian Do?
A custodian keeps the building clean and monitors systems within the building to make sure they are working. The first responsibility is important because public facilities generally have many different people in them. Without custodians, the floors would become quite dirty, and bathrooms would never get sanitized. The second responsibility helps to ensure energy efficiency of the building. Custodians are attuned to the normal conditions of the building and can call for repairs when they notice that something is wrong.
The only education required to be a custodian is a high school diploma. There is no experience required. The median hourly wage for these professionals is $11.27 an hour. Full-time hours, including evening and weekend hours, are necessary.
Custodian Job Description for Resume – Responsibilities
Custodians need to be committed to their job and exhibit excellent work ethic as some of their responsibilities are not desirable. Use the following responsibilities as starter points for a resume.
- Disinfect and sanitize doorknobs, computer keyboards, desks, tables, and other heavily touched areas.
- Take out the trash and sort into proper containers.
- Clean restrooms on the hour and keep a record of when.
- Clean the floors of the facility. Remove noticeable scuff marks or other minor damage.
- Keep the inventory of cleaning supplies and order new supplies when necessary.
- Observe systems of the building and notify a facilities supervisor when the building needs to repairing.
- Keep the windows and glass smudge free. This involves cleaning glass doors multiple times a day if needed.
Custodian Required Skills
- Physical endurance skills. Custodians are on their feet for much of the day, and they must be able to complete different tasks that require physical endurance such as bending over, carrying trash, and climbing ladders.
- Work ethic skills. The hours worked and tasks completed are not easy. Custodians must have an internal commitment to complete an excellent job and care deeply about the areas that they keep clean.
- Time management skills. Custodians have a lot of areas to clean and a limited amount of time in which they can complete their tasks. They must balance efficiency with thoroughness and identify higher priority to lower priority responsibilities.
- Mechanical skills. Some custodian job descriptions will call for them to be able to complete simple building repairs. Having basic mechanical sills will ensure that they can complete these repairs.
How to Become a Custodian
A custodian job description shows that they do not need an advanced degree. Some positions will hire a custodian who does not have their high school diploma or GED. There is also no experience required, but novice custodians will often work with a more senior custodian until they have learned enough to work independently.
Education & Training Requirements
There is no formal education requirement for custodians. It is recommended to focus on vocational courses and gain practical experience in simple construction, maintenance, and repair. A custodian who can also complete simple repairs will be invaluable to a company or institution.
In addition, you don’t need any license to become a custodian. They will need to pass background checks. These checks vary depending on where they work. Custodians who work in a school will need to show additional clearances to work around children. Additionally, you can get more certificates through the International Executive Housekeepers Association or The International Sanitary Supply Association.
Work Experience
Just like a delivery driver, you don’t need experience to become a custodian. The nature of the job creates a perfect environment for an apprenticeship. A more inexperienced custodian will work under and learn from a more experienced one. They will gradually take the lead on different responsibilities until they are able to work without any direct supervision.
Custodians who have experience with certain equipment like vacuums, floor buffers, or sanitary tools may need to complete less training than someone without any of this experience. The apprenticeship period should cover procedures such as the difference between disinfecting and sanitizing and safety procedures.
Work Schedules
Custodians often have to work in the evening or early morning when places are less busy. The actual schedule and environment differ based on where they work. In businesses or hospitals, team cleaning saves time and reduce costs. This same approach does not work for custodians who work in schools because they have different activities to complete when they are at work.
Some custodians work part-time because school districts or institutions want to save money on benefits paid to full-time staff.
Career Prospects
Without custodians, our public places would be a less inviting and enjoyable place to frequent. The projected job growth for custodians is 6 percent through the year 2024. They will see faster growth in growing industries such as medical facilities. One of the more drastic changes to occur is an outsourcing of custodial work. The outcome of this is that these professionals might not work for the place that they clean.
Job advancement for custodians depend on many factors. They gain valuable experience in maintenance of facilities. Therefore, they have the potential to become facility supervisors. However, this advancement can only come through an investment in their education in addition to the experience.
Conclusion
Custodians have a low-stress job. However, their pay is not high. A custodian job description shows that the job can be challenging, but is often rewarding knowing that they are the gears that keep a place running smoothly. This custodian job description has highlighted many parts of the job. Make sure to check out the resources linked in the article to learn even more about what a custodian does.