A SCHOOL cleaner who has swopped mopping for marking is urging East Lancashire's domestic staff to stand up and be counted.

When Lynn Holmes became a school cleaner she never dreamt that 19 years later she would be responsible for helping school cleaners all over Lancashire gain valuable qualifications.

The 48-year-old, who was born and bred in Blackburn, but recently moved to Morecambe, is a National Vocational Qualification assessor co-ordinator.

She is responsible for putting cleaners through their paces and helping them to achieve qualifications which can make a big difference to their careers.

Lynn, who left school aged 15 with no qualifications, worked in a bakery before becoming a cleaner at Witton Park High School, Buncer Lane, Blackburn. She worked her way up to site supervisor despite describing it as a "man's job" and a rare role for a woman in the 1980s.

The grandmother-of-five amassed a barrage of qualifications, including City and Guilds in plumbing, plastering and glazing, an industrial mentoring course which involved her getting to grips with the pupils' problems and, as a union representative, she became involved in encouraging fellow cleaning and maintenance staff to make the most of training opportunities.

She said: "Cleaners can be cynical about taking qualifications because they don't see the point and think of themselves as unimportant, but in any team the cleaners are among the most important people.

"If a building isn't clean, then people won't come to work."

Lynn is now based at County Hall in Preston and is responsible for a team of four assessors covering all East Lancashire.

And Lancashire County Council has been given beacon status for its efforts in transforming the school workforce and supporting individuals such as Lynn.

She said: "In the past, people with no qualifications would never have been given the opportunities and now the sky's the limit.

"If you are offered training then grab it with both hands."