jobfacts

Vehicle valeters and cleaners

SOC 2020 9226

Vehicle valeters and cleaners clean, wash and polish the interiors and exteriors of ships, aircraft, trains and road vehicles.

Also calledValeterCarriage service manCleanerVehicle cleanerInterior train cleanerExterior train cleanerand 26 more titles
Typical full-time pay£26,6002025 Provisional
People in the job17,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month504↓ 1.9%on last year · 265th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time vehicle valeters and cleaners earn between £24,100 and £30,400 a year.

What full-time vehicle valeters and cleaners earn, 2025
£26,600 typical£23,700lowest 20%£30,40075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£24,100–£30,400)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£23,700
25%£24,100
Median£26,600
75%£30,400
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £26,600
North East!£30,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£28,600
West Midlands!£28,300
East Midlands!£27,600
South East!£26,700
North West!£25,900
South West!£25,100
East of England!£25,100
Wales!£24,400
Scotland!£21,000
LondonNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £26,600
North East£30,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£28,600 (small sample)
West Midlands£28,300 (small sample)
East Midlands£27,600 (small sample)
South East£26,700 (small sample)
North West£25,900 (small sample)
South West£25,100 (small sample)
East of England£25,100 (small sample)
Wales£24,400 (small sample)
Scotland£21,000 (small sample)
LondonNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,200
  • 2024 £24,700
  • 2025 Provisional£26,600
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 504 jobs for vehicle valeters and cleaners are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026505
Jul 2026594
Jun 2026550
May 2026504
Apr 2026570
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026492
Jan 2026495
Dec 2025237
Nov 2025562
Oct 2025512
Sept 2025526
Aug 2025530
Jul 2025574
Jun 2025591
May 2025614
Apr 2025519
Mar 2025650
Feb 2025532
Jan 2025480
Dec 2024298
Nov 2024397
Oct 2024580
Sept 2024538
Aug 2024593
Jul 2024635
Jun 2024640
May 2024703
Apr 2024645
Mar 2024481
Feb 2024438
Jan 2024500
Dec 2023265
Nov 2023347
Oct 2023359
Sept 2023353
Aug 2023454
Jul 2023382
Jun 2023758
May 2023777
Apr 2023528
Mar 2023593
Feb 2023533
Jan 2023626
Dec 2022658
Nov 2022758
Oct 2022776
Sept 2022698
Aug 2022732
Jul 2022940
Jun 2022766
May 2022852
Apr 2022736
Mar 2022964
Feb 2022906
Jan 2022953
Dec 2021765
Nov 20211,042
Oct 20211,234
Sept 20211,241
Aug 20211,117
Jul 20211,003
Jun 20211,066
May 20211,091
Apr 2021897
Mar 2021892
Feb 2021478
Jan 2021336
Dec 2020319
Nov 2020355
Oct 2020629
Sept 2020681
Aug 2020491
Jul 2020447
Jun 2020353
May 2020326
Apr 2020325
Mar 2020540
Feb 2020764
Jan 2020679
Dec 2019532
Nov 2019708
Oct 2019709
Sept 2019665
Aug 2019602
Jul 2019741
Jun 2019676
May 2019833
Apr 2019782
Mar 2019636
Feb 2019534
Jan 2019818
Dec 2018468
Nov 2018544
Oct 2018555
Sept 2018547
Aug 2018498
Jul 2018430
Jun 2018466
May 2018430
Apr 2018863
Mar 2018597
Feb 2018349
Jan 2018434
Dec 2017449
Nov 2017452
Oct 2017412
Sept 2017433
Aug 2017439
Jul 2017465
Jun 2017523
May 2017613
Apr 2017592
Mar 2017619
Feb 2017603
Jan 2017477
Is there a shortage of vehicle valeters and cleaners?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hours worked, change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
5.4%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary cleaning occupations, which includes vehicle valeters and cleaners. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London125
Manchester27
Birmingham23
Glasgow City22
North Yorkshire22
City of Edinburgh21
Reigate and Banstead19
Bristol, City of18
Leeds18
Somerset15
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where vehicle valeters and cleaners are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of vehicle valeters and cleaners
n/p
n/p
24%!
26%!
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4424% (small sample)
45–5426% (small sample)
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!18%
GCSEs or equivalent!47%
Other qualifications!11%
No qualifications!27%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent18% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent47% (small sample)
Other qualifications11% (small sample)
No qualifications27% (small sample)

Main employers: maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (44%), sale of cars and light motor vehicles (18%), sale of other motor vehicles (6.6%), urban and suburban passenger land transport (5.3%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 47%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • vacuums, brushes and washes vehicle upholstery and interior surfaces
  • empties waste bins and removes rubbish
  • reports any damage or vandalism to the fabric of the vehicle interior
  • washes, cleans and polishes as appropriate the exterior surfaces of vehicles

Skills

  • clean equipment
  • clean vehicle engine
  • clean vehicle exterior
  • clean vehicle interiors
  • ensure vehicle preparation for pick-up
  • follow control of substances hazardous to health procedures
  • follow given instructions
  • handle chemical cleaning agents
  • maintain work area cleanliness
  • manage stocked company material
  • treat vehicle fabrics
  • wash vehicles
  • communicate with customers
  • cooperate with colleagues

Knowledge

  • car cleaning procedures
  • car controls
  • types of vehicles
  • health, safety and hygiene legislation
  • teamwork principles

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes vehicle valeters and cleaners.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 48,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351.5 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.