On World Pest Day 2022, 6 June, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) launched a virtual competency assessment for rodent control, to help newly-qualified pest technicians prove they can put their knowledge and skills into practice.
BPCA’s TechAssure is a digital learning environment which allows:
- Pest professionals to demonstrate their competence
- Trainees to put the theory into practice
- Pest management companies the potential for practical assessments during recruitment
With the support of members and significant funding from the Ufi VocTech Fund, the innovative online assessment package uses photorealistic, three-dimensional environments to put pest technicians to the test.
BPCA Chief Executive, Ian Andrew, said: “We’ve been doing a lot of work here in the UK around the area of competency. Whenever there’s a pest problem, it’s a distressing time. People want it to be dealt with as professionally as possible. TechAssure will help assure customers that our members’ technicians are as competent as they can be.”
BPCA successfully secured funding from Ufi VocTech Fund in 2021, to develop the pilot virtual platform to assess learners’ practical skills in realistic environments, as a supplement to their Level 2 Award in Pest Management.
In March this year, TechAssure was introduced to the sector at the BPCA’s PestEx exhibition. Potential future expansion of the project could see more environments, pest species and increased levels of complexity added to the platform.
BPCA Training and Development Manager, Karen Dawes, added: “A written assessment doesn’t test whether a candidate has the skills to carry out pest management. Many BPCA member companies have robust internal training programmes in place, with processes for line managers to sign off their competence through observation – but that isn’t possible for every business.
“Independent physical observations are costly, and there are challenges in finding the relevant pest issue in the right environment and at the required time for an assessment. TechAssure provides practical learning opportunities for technicians in the sector and gives clients additional assurance that the professionalism of their pest contractor is demonstrable at all levels.”
