N.B. Tourism Association Launches Cleanliness Certification In English And French
FREDERICTON – The Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) is now offering the Clean It Right certification in both official languages, free of charge for the first 500 access codes for each language.
Clean It Right, or Nettoyez-le Bien, is an online, self-study training program aimed at increasing the safety of guests, visitors and staff in the tourism, hospitality and retail industry. TIANB is the only association offering the program in French.
Businesses and organizations that have completed the training will get a window decal that they can display. They have to train all their cleaning staff or contracted cleaners, and must obtain a 100% pass rate to receive the certification.
“The goal really is to help people understand the difference between cleaning and disinfecting, and all of these things,” says TIANB president and CEO Carol Alderdice. “But also, one of the bigger goals is to help people who are afraid to leave their houses or their familiar surroundings, to help them feel safe and comfortable. When they see that decal on an establishment, they would know that they’ve done everything they can to keep the staff as well as the visitors safe and secure.”
Developed and certified by the Manitoba Training and Education Commission, the program includes three courses that take about an hour to complete. It’s endorsed by provincial and national bodies including, Tourism HR Canada and the Retail Council of Canada.
TIANB tweaked the program a little bit to fit New Brunswick operators, and has received funding support from the provincial government to offer it for free, at least in the beginning. WorkSafeNB is TIANB’s key partner in the program, and Alderdice said they endorse the training.
Alderdice says the training is designed to enhance businesses’ existing cleaning practices. Particularly, the program aims to help those who work in hotels, motels, bed and breakfast establishments, restaurants and food services, and retailers to understand the significance of following the cleaning and disinfection procedures by adjusting current practices. By doing so, TIANB hopes New Brunswick’s operators can regain consumer confidence.
Alderdice says some operators have told her they have staff members who are still afraid of coming to work. She hopes this program will help calm their fears.
So far, 300 access codes for the English program, which was launched two weeks ago, have been sent out to operators. Alderdice says TIANB plans to keep offering it for free “until we need to start claiming administration costs.”
She’s still looking at the numbers, but when the times comes to charge, she estimates the cost to be between $15 and $35 per access code, with TIANB members getting the lower price.
The tourism and hospitality industry in New Brunswick, which contributes more than $520 million to the provincial GDP and supports over 30,000 workers, has been among those hardest hit in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.