Additional Information
If you're interested in becoming a drycleaner, you won't be able to go
to your local college to get trained. There aren't any formal education programs
for drycleaners. This industry is about having flexibility, general skills
and a willingness to work.
Experienced drycleaners say it's people skills that will make or break
a drycleaner.
"Interpersonal skills are so important. When you deal with someone's clothes,
it's a very personal thing for them. You have to make them feel comfortable
with it," says drycleaner Tracy Wong.
People who work in this field say the best way to learn about the drycleaning
business is to start working in it.
"When you go to look for jobs in the industry, tell the owner you want
to apprentice, to learn the trade," suggests Wong. "This will differentiate
you as a career drycleaner, and it will give you a chance to learn more."
Drycleaners say an informal apprentice system is well entrenched in this
industry.
"I got started when my father introduced me to a man who owned 30 drycleaning
shops [in town]," says drycleaner Darcy Moen. "He agreed to take me on [for
low pay] and I would work in any one of his stores. It was the classic example
of apprenticeship."
Increasingly, computer skills are a necessity for people wanting to advance
in the drycleaning industry.
"The explosion of personal computers, software and integrating technology
into our equipment is making the labor and skill requirements much more technical,"
says Moen. "But it frees us up to focus on other aspects of our businesses,
such as customer satisfaction."
Once you have some experience under your belt, experts say there are a
number of short trade courses a drycleaner could take to get an added advantage
in this field.
"Undoubtedly, the best place for training would be at the International
Fabricare Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland," says Moen. "There are only
a handful of cleaners who have been trained by this organization so far. Yet
these handful of cleaners are some of the best in the business. Any graduate
from the IFI would tower over his local competition."