What skills are needed for a custodian job?

Custodians are expected to have a various number of skills and abilities rather than educational qualifications. It is these skills which would help him to perform his duties as part of his profession helping the candidate to grow to higher levels and also in terms of remuneration package. Following are the skills and abilities required to be a custodian:

Skill Set:

• Ability to withstand long working hours: Custodians must be willingly perform unpleasant cleaning tasks by spending long hours standing, lifting and pushing heavy power equipment in addition to bending and squatting. They must develop the ability to work in a noisy environment around equipment as well.
• Ability to work in a team: These professionals work coordinating with various other departments of the organization. They should have the ability to work cooperating relationships with other professional by demonstrating sensitivity and respect in a diverse population.
• Ability to work with hazardous materials: Custodians must have considerate knowledge while working with pesticides as they are hazardous materials. They should be able to identify on how to use dangerous chemicals by safely disposing them off with the help of manual or power equipment.
• Organizational Skills: These professionals are vested with a number of tasks which may be maintenance or supervision activities. As such, they should have the ability to properly schedule their activities by prioritizing their duty according to the importance of the task. They should effectively and smoothly complete their duties within the allocated time.
• Other skills:

o    Other skills include:

• Reasonable knowledge of maintenance and preserving variety chemical substances.
• Ability to work under supervision.
• Ability to make decisions and problem solving skills.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to be flexible and possess cultural awareness.

What are the certification and licensure required to be a custodian?

There is no peculiar certification or licensure required to be a custodian. However, minimum requirements are a valid state license with an acceptable driving record.

What is the salary package for a custodian?

• The salary of a custodian is fairly lucrative considering their contribution to the organization. Their remuneration depends on a number of factors such as experience in the industry, area of employment, industry and geographical location of employment.
• The average median salary of a custodian is estimated to be $27,970 annually while the top ten percentile of these professionals earn up to $31,245 per year and lowest ten custodians receive an income ranging around $18,794 and $21,453 annually.
• Experience plays a vital role in determining the salary of custodian. It is observed that custodians with professional experience of less than one year earn salary ranging around $10,800 – $25,000 per annum. On the other hand, custodians with experience of one to five years earn salary ranging around $13,480 – $44,246 per year.
• The salary of custodians varies with industry too. Professionals who are employed to educational institutions earn a salary ranging around $15,600 – $38,205 per annum while those employed in churches are paid salary ranging around $10,524 – $32,807 per year.
• Custodians employed in state, local and federal government agencies for cleaning services earn a salary ranging around $15,985 – $53,228 for a year. Compare to those who work in companies and non-profit organizations who earn salaries ranging between $10,800 and $33,233 annually.
• Geographical location of employment has a huge affect in determining the salary of a custodian. Custodians who are employed in the state of California earn salary ranging around $16,293 – $55,174 annually whereas, the same professionals employed in the state of New York earn a salary ranging around $20,000 – $90,000 for a year. The difference in salary range with every state is because of the variation in the economic rate of the states.
• Apart from the traditional salaries, custodians are also given perks and benefits which include health insurances and paid sick leaves.

What does a custodian do?

A custodian is enumerated with a wide range of duties and responsibilities to perform as part of his post in the organization. He is responsible for performing all the odd duties by playing a vital role in a company. He takes care of all the pity jobs in order to ensure the efficient and smooth working of the other professionals. Following are some of the duties and responsibilities given to a custodian:

Duties:

• The primary duty of a custodian is to schedule, coordinate and implement and perform comprehensive custodial maintenance activities that are assigned to him.
• It is the duty of the custodian to clean and wipe the furniture of the company to keep them dust free and make sure that the waste and trash cans are refilled every morning by replacing them with new dispensers.
• It forms the duty of the custodian to make use of the power equipment which includes automatic scrubbers, vacuum cleaners, brooms and other cleaning material to take care of the general maintenance of floors, carpets and walls of the organization.
• Custodians are involved in cleaning and disinfecting restrooms, child care centers, locker rooms and other health care sectors by ordering for stock of tissues and other supplies whenever required.
• Another important duty of this professional is to carry out maintenance duties such as repair of fixtures in restrooms, classrooms, labs etc and installation of new equipment.

Responsibilities:

• They are responsible for maintain the warehouse by submitting a written report of the supplies and testing new supplies of the equipment.
• It is the responsibility of the custodians to assist in setting up of company’s events which include events and meetings by cleaning the floor and shampooing the carpets.
• They are responsible for replacing the repair of electrical and plumbing problems with good quality of light bulbs and accessories.
• Custodians are given the responsibility operate high power equipment which as forklifts, pressure washer, carpet extractors and other hand power tools and vehicle equipment.
• These professionals are responsible to respond to service requests by coordinating with resources department and implementing the setup of furniture for community events organized by the company.
• They stand responsible in assisting with refinishing the wooden floors of the firm.

In short, custodians are responsible for performing preventive maintenance operations in and around the organization.

What does a custodian have to learn for this job?

The post of a custodian does not necessarily require a set of academic qualifications but however, minimum education would prove useful. Following are the educational qualifications to be a custodian:

Educational Requirement:

• There is official education requirement for the position of a custodian. While certain companies prefer to hire applicants with previous experience in the field other companies hire candidates and give them informal training to be custodian employers for their organization.
• However, it is seen that high school diploma with the knowledge of simple arithmetic proves helpful for this job as they are given the responsibility to prepare reports on the supplies in the warehouse.
• A minimum knowledge or associate degree in mechanics and repairing would prove beneficial to be a custodian as they often deal with installation and repairing tasks.
• Many of the custodians start their career by cleaning activities and while they gain experience they are given complex duties such as repairs etc.
• Internship programs or formal training courses may prove very useful in becoming custodians rather than an undergraduate or master’s degree.

An overview of the job of a Custodian:

A custodian is a professional who performs maintenance and custodial activities in and around an organization facility by working for troubleshooting operations and performing other minor repairs. These professionals may also be given the task to respond to emergency calls to provide customer service for the organization and to implement the planning for a variety of community events inside the company’s campus. A custodian is appointed to work closely with internal employees and also the external public in order to meet the custodial needs of the area. At times they may also be asked to resolve problems to ensure safe and efficient activities.

A custodian is an important person who is employed to a wide number of varieties of fields such as schools, offices, churches, commercial buildings, hospitals and even hotels. Majority of their tasks include cleaning and white washing floors of schools and offices. They may also clean snow from the sidewalks outside office premises. Custodians may also be referred to as housekeepers or housekeeping staff when employed in hotels and hospitals. He is responsible to report to the senior administrative officer of the company or the director of housekeeping facility services of the organization they are employed in. They are also involved in the care of the municipal equipment and facilities to maintain and ensure health safety and security of the public.

This professional works in a very stressful environment as it includes extreme physical activities. As part of his job duties, he may occasionally come across humid conditions, mechanical and toxic particles to work with. There is a lot of noise pollution environment in the life of a custodian that he has to moderately hold on with. The salary given to these professionals is fair considering their contribution to the organization. They may be employed part time for which they will be paid on hourly basis while others remuneration may be quoted on factors such as experience in the industry, area of employment and geographical location of employment.