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To meet the needs of cleaning professionals during the COVID 19 pandemic, Kimberly-Clark Professional, a company that manufactures hygiene and cleaning solutions, has announced a new scholarship program designed to help smaller cleaning companies offer their employees key training in preventing and controlling infectious diseases. The program is in collaboration with ISSA, the worldwide association of the cleaning industry and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA.

"Cleaning professionals work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep other key companies safe," said Susan Gambardella, president of Kimberly-Clark Professional North America. "They are heroes on the front lines and endanger their own health and safety. While looking for others, we want to make sure that someone is looking for them. This scholarship program is about giving access to these important heroes – especially those who who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to receive this training – to gain the knowledge they need to work safely and safely. "

The GBAC Fundamentals online course focuses on prevention, reaction and control measures for biological hazards at the workplace – with a special focus on measures for infection and contamination control for outbreaks in infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. More information about the course can be found here.

The $ 500,000 / £ 405,000 donation from Kimberly-Clark Professional enables more than 10,000 cleaning professionals around the world to complete the GBAC Fundamentals online course for free. Smaller companies that may not have been able to fund this training for their employees otherwise will be given priority inclusion in the program.

The program also aims to ensure that 50% of the scholarships are awarded to women and supports a mentoring program in collaboration with the ISSA Hygieia Network, the first women's network for the global cleaning community dedicated to promoting women in the cleaning industry . As part of the scholarship program, recipients can register to be looked after by Kimberly-Clark Professional volunteers.

"We are very grateful to Kimberly-Clark Professional for this generous donation and their commitment to supporting women and cleaning professionals," said Meredith Reuben, chair of the ISSA Hygieia Network. “We want to help all women in the cleaning industry accelerate their careers and reach their full potential. With half of these grants, we reach women, especially those who are at the forefront of cleaning up the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) will surely have an incredible impact. "