The Eastern Cape Department of Education’s Human Resource Development Directorate partnered with Mkhasela Developers And Trading (MDAT) to conduct training for 100 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers on Hygiene and Cleaning Services at Mandla Makupula Education Leadership Institute in East London.

The EPWP participants included General Aides, Car Washers and Office Shifting Aides from the Head Office and districts. This training ran over a period of two weeks and participants were divided into two groups of 50.

The training served as a session for the unit standard that is under a bigger umbrella of occupational health and safety in the Department.

The training aims at educating the participants on how to use chemicals safely in the cleaning services environment.

Over the five-day course/training, participants were trained to understand the chemicals they work with and the impact these chemicals have on their own health and safety, and general hygiene which is, personal hygiene, office space, and at home.

At the end of the training session, participant were required to complete an assessment which saw them receiving a General Education and Training Certificate: Hygiene and Cleaning ID 57937 Level 1 – 120 Credits. After completing training, qualifying participants were able to demonstrate the following:

• An understanding of the action of cleaning chemicals during a cleaning process,
• The use of cleaning chemicals on a range of surfaces types - understanding the pH scale,
• Contact time for chemicals and which equipment to use for certain chemicals,
• How cleaning chemicals remove the different types of dirt,
• How to handle different types of cleaning chemicals and equipment,
• Correct storing of cleaning chemicals and labelling.

An Office Shifter, Afunga Sinxo, who has been working at the Head Office for three months said that he was grateful for the opportunity to take part in the training and that he had gained so much knowledge about hygiene including health and safety, even things that he thought he knew about his job.

We got to learn about what different chemicals do and how to take precautions and the importance of using the safety aids we are provided with, like PPEs. We were also taught when to use certain chemicals to protect people’s health/safety in the office space.

Overall I feel more equipped and able to apply what I’ve learned over the training to perform my job well, concluded Sinxo.