Vocational technology for the pest control industry
BPCA announce the launch of the TechAssure platform
Today the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) has launched its new training and assessment platform, TechAssure, developed with the support of a 2021 VocTech Seed grant from Ufi.
Designed to assess the competency of new and re-qualifying pest controllers, TechAssure will help pest technicians demonstrate that they can put their knowledge and skills into practice.
Most traditional training for pest control technicians is theory based, due primarily to the difficulty of running training scenarios with live pests in domestic and commercial settings. As BPCA Training and Development Manager, Karen Dawes, explains:
"A trainee pest controller passes a written examination and is immediately allowed to use dangerous chemicals unsupervised where people live, work and play. But a written assessment doesn’t test whether a candidate has the practical skills to carry out pest management”.
TechAssure has been designed to provide a realistic and safe assessment process; giving technicians the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge to the test and feel more confident in their practical skills.
During the assessment learners are faced with a series of digital scenarios and then required to assess the situation, identify pests and decide on the best course of treatment.
As well as supporting individual learners to develop and demonstrate their skills, the platform will also help employers to direct training resources to where they are needed most, reassuring clients that the professionalism of their pest control contractors is demonstrable at all levels. Initial interest in the programme has been extremely positive.
The project is a great example of how vocational technology can enable industry to better equip it's workforce with the skills and confidence to flourish at work. We look forward to watching the programme develop.
You can find out more at www.bpca.org.uk/techassure.
