Future Clean
One way in which Pluss achieves its vision is to establish small social enterprises to employ local people with disabilities. And so begins the story of Future Clean……
What is Future Clean?
Future Clean is an environmentally friendly car valeting system that offers paid jobs for people with disabilities in the heart of the local community.
Operating from several busy city centre car parks (view locations), Monday to Saturday, customers can pay from £6 to have their cars cleaned inside and out ready for their return from the shops (View flyer).
How did it all begin?
Whilst supporting a customer with autism who had a real interest in cars, Pluss became aware of an innovative new car washing and valeting system. It was immediately obvious that this system delivered major potential for creating jobs for people with disabilities.
Future Clean is cheap to set up and hugely environmentally friendly - it uses half a litre of water to wash an average size car. No water or debris reaches the ground and all cleaning products are bio-degradable.
It is an uncomplicated, extremely portable system, about the size of a normal tool bag but lighter, and can easily be carried with one hand. This means it is accessible for people with complex physical and learning disabilities and has an excellent fit with both self and mainstream employment opportunities.
How Pluss set up Future Clean
To
get Future Clean up and running, Pluss made use of available pump
priming monies through the ESF funded trans-national project and
sought business start up advice from Co-Active social enterprise.We then
developed partnerships with Plymouth and Exeter City Council Car Parks
division - this whole process took considerable time and negotiation.
Job
coaches were recruited to take overall responsibility for day to
day management of Future Clean and for coaching incoming trainees,
teaching them how to operate the cleaning system and develop their
skills.
We also actively encouraged applications from unemployed
ex-service personnel by developing partnerships with the ex-service community. They have proved highly skilled in terms of
training, motivation and overcoming obstacles - imagine being trained by
a RM Sergent Major!. This has had an immense impact on the quality and
commercial delivery of Future Clean.
The whole team are always involved in the set up of the new business including planning and local business development. At team meetings staff share best practice, set service prices and agree service standards.
"One of our customers sent his wife with her land Rover Discovery to test out our standards. He was so impressed he now regularly books in his Aston Martin for our team to clean and valet"
Job outcomes?
In
one year, across all sites (run by both Pluss and our partners) Future
Clean has delivered up to 40 paid jobs for people with moderate to
severe learning disabilities, complex mental health issues and people
with multiple physical disabilities.
It also offers work trials
to many people with learning disabilities; several of whom receive 1:1
individual support due to behaviour that challenges traditional
services. Future Clean also offers Saturday jobs for school age
teenagers with a learning disability.
Our teams have delivered training and start up packs to delegations in Norwood, Sunderland and France with a view to them duplicating the Future Clean brand and model.
Changing perceptions
The
Future Clean model is also about bringing employment for people with
complex disabilities slap bang in to the middle of the community. Here,
they are engaging with members of the public, demonstrating every day
just what people with disabilities can do by delivering a cracking
standard of product. At the same time it offers a team environment where
individuals are fully supported by trained coaches.
We now have
great links with local car parks and wardens, and our valeting teams are
considered an invaluable part of the local city centre community. Our
presence has prevented a number of crimes from escalating, delivers an
extra measure of security to lone female parents and women using city car parks.
In around 8 months, it is estimated that Future Clean has conserved 579946.5 litres of fresh water
Want a Future Clean in your area?
Future Clean is a simple yet strong model that Pluss are keen to replicate at car parks across the country.
Future Clean is now operating from car parks in Plymouth, Exeter, Norwood and Vallenciennef in France (view locations). Through our transnational work we also now have partners in France centred around Calais and who are actively involved in setting up a site in their region. View our Future Clean locations.
We are also discussing developments in Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset (possibility of a supermarket car park), Gloucester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Kent, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Sunderland, London, France, Boston USA and Belgium.
Pluss are currently in the process of developing a Future Clean online network which will connect all our Future Clean partners. The network includes a discussion forum for trouble shooting, dissemination of best practice, funnel for channelling orders to our supplier central purchasing facility, organising training delivery, accrediting new and existing Future Clean sites and generally linking the Future Clean network together.
"I hope that the Future Clean brand and its disability links will become as well recognised in our car parks as the Big Issue is on our street corners."
Rod Burnett, Pluss Social Enterprise Development Manager
Want to know more? Contact rod.burnett@pluss.org.uk 
