PPC118 | Annual report
In Chris Cagienard's President's Report from the BPCA Annual Report 2024, he talks about culture, policy and building relationships.
As President of BPCA, I proudly present my Annual Report for the Association year 2024.
The Association continues to work hard for its members in driving forward the professionalism of the UK pest control industry, in line with our 2025 strategy to Represent, Support and Assure.
The hard work of our dedicated Staff team and the valued time contributed by our army of over 70 volunteers from member companies has helped us to make significant progress toward our goals.
We have had much to celebrate over the last year, which has seen the Association's work deliver real benefits in regards to the needs and interests of our Members.
Flagship industry event
In March 2024, PestEx, our showcase industry event held every two years at ExCeL London, returned.
The event was our most successful yet, with great attendance and support for our seminars, and exhibitors showed great enthusiasm about the opportunities that lay ahead for our industry.
PestEx saw the launch of one of our most significant member benefits yet as we introduced TrustMark to the industry.
This Government Endorsed Quality Scheme is now a benefit for all BPCA Servicing Member companies through the standards of our membership requirements and assessments.
At PestEx we also introduced our Panel Discussion format in our seminar programme, which involved more of the experts from our member companies. Attendees shared this as one of the highlights.
This great format has continued inspiring more people to get involved in the discussion about professionalism.
PestEx saw the launch of one of our most significant member benefits yet as we introduced TrustMark to the industry.
Culture is everything
We made continued progress as more pest controllers put trust in the BPCA Registered CPD Scheme as the vehicle for their learning and personal development.
We increased the number of learning resources that are available through the CPD scheme and made it much easier to record your learning through the BPCA Registered App.
All CPD collected is now CPD certified, the only pest control CPD scheme to carry this badge, demonstrating the value of the scheme.
We continued to work towards the new qualification framework, as we concluded the industry consultation process to assure further industry professionalisation, make our qualifications more fit for purpose, demonstrate our competency, and ultimately help protect our toolkit.
John Horsley was appointed to the training team to help lead this project and is making great progress.
One of the projects I am most passionate about is the BPCA Onboarding Scheme, which was launched in 2023 and started to become established in 2024.
This Onboarding Scheme provides a certificated pathway for new recruits entering the industry, giving team members in our businesses confidence and competency, delivering value within our members' companies and starting people’s careers the right way.
The high standard of people completing the scheme has been impressive.
In with the new
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, one of our newest committees, produced an EDI Toolkit and some great resources for members to showcase sustainable careers and help us recruit the pest professionals of the future.
This committee will continue to develop a suite of recruitment aids and resources for members, as we know this area is one of the biggest challenges for member companies.
In 2024 we made some changes to our committee structure by combining the old Servicing and Manufacturing and Distributor Committees into a new Technical Committee, along with a Regulatory Affairs Working Group.
This change has been incredibly positive with both of the new groups doing great work.
I would like to personally thank all the participants of our two retiring committees for their service and great contributions over the years.
Building relationships
Your Association continued the significant impact of its work to represent members in the public affairs space, following the recruitment of our new Policy and Campaigns Officer Jordan McCay, employed as a strategic investment in increasing our voice and influence as we lobby for the best interests of our industry and members.
This has yielded more relationships of influence that allows us to make more impact on the decisions that affect our work and professionalism.
Our Academic Relations Working Group produced some great outputs this year, with the launch of partnerships on Academic Projects for undergraduates and over ten institutions engaging with BPCA.
The working group will continue to build on this success which will help make us more data rich.
The industry survey results also provided great insight and data that we can act upon.
Our industry faces many challenges and opportunities. Your President, Executive Board, Committees, Working Groups, and Staff team continue to work well together to ensure the best outcome, as we strive to better support our Members.
I thank our over 50 volunteers for their commitment and hard work. BPCA would not be the same without you.
I also thank the BPCA Staff team for their dedication and hard work.
I continue to have great pride in the work of our BPCA. I encourage members to consider how you may get involved and become more engaged in 2025 as we push forward for the benefit of our Members.
I wish all of you every success in 2025.
Get involved. Engage. Read things. Join events. Volunteer.
Chris Cagienard
BPCA President
president@bpca.org.uk