PPC110 | Annual report

BPCA is run by members, for members. Here the Chairs of BPCA's various Committees update you on the work they've been doing in 2022. 

Servicing committee report: Members supporting members

"We’re all members because we believe in driving standards".

Last year, I was the Chair of the Professional Standards Committee, however Martin and myself have swapped to share our support better. It’s been very interesting working with two committees so close together!

Anyway, with a lot of help from the BPCA Staff team and all the members of the Servicing Committee, we managed another successful year.

We developed a tender package which has been quite a while coming. BPCA will show specifiers what a good tender looks like with this expansive document template and guidance.

BPCA Head of Technical and Membership, Dee Ward-Thompson and volunteer David Lodge should be congratulated on the hard work they have put in.

Hopefully, you’ve spotted new member benefits throughout 2022 and the Big Book of Benefits dropping on your doorstep. Putting together benefits has been a significant project over the past year, where we’ve secured many special deals from suppliers just for BPCA members.

Natalie and the BPCA technical team have been busy developing new Codes of Best Practice. Many will soon be signed off, so we’ll have approximately ten new Codes to share with you across 2023.

Codes of Best Practice help show our professionalism to our clients, so please take the time to understand them when they’re released. We all have to agree to follow them to maintain our membership.

We also decided to write to all members regarding cancelled assessments. While we understand all companies get busy, we have to minimise the number of lost days due to last-minute cancelled assessments.

We’ve also supported much of the other Committee’s work, including testing BPCA TechAssure (our 3D Competency Assessment).

We provided on-the-ground feedback on bird licences, supply chain issues, the dreaded glue board issue and a voluntary trap approval scheme. We do our best to ensure Servicing members have a big voice in how BPCA deals with these challenges.

One of our 2022 tasks was to encourage members to share technical knowledge or pest control-associated experiences at our events. We know the expertise in the sector lies inside our member companies, so if you’d like to speak at a Forum or write for our magazine – please let us know.

We’re all members because we believe in driving standards.

Once again, my thanks go to the BPCA Staff team and volunteer committee members. I hope all BPCA members have a great 2023.

Malcolm Stowell

Professional Standards committee report: Innovation driving professionalism

"...2023 looks full of many more projects supporting BPCA members"

2022 has been another hectic year for the Professional Standards Committee and an interesting first year as Chair. The Committee has undertaken many projects, some of which will be released to support members soon and some ongoing.

First up, we’ve been hard at work supporting the Staff team undertaking a crossover project with the Servicing Committee: the BPCA Registered app.

The app is in its final phase after testing and will soon be released in app stores for iPhone and Android. As a technician, one of the things I can’t wait for is a quick and easy way to log CPD points in the field.

Hopefully, it will prevent the end-of-year rush to enter points, and help us register all the on-the-job learning we undertake and probably forget to log!

BPCA TechAssure is almost ready for its next update after lots of testing and helpful feedback. The virtual scenario is aimed at trainees or newly qualified techs just entering the industry who may not have yet had the benefit of undertaking pest control in a real-life environment.

I remember my first day out and about and how daunting it was. The opportunity to investigate in a virtual scenario would have been an enormous benefit.

We’ve been reviewing the practical training offered by BPCA. We’re coming up with new ideas and assisting the Staff team, so that members can be supported by having access to a broader range of training.

The BPCA Qualifications Framework is a very exciting project which will be something we can all be proud of as we continue our collective journey in professionalism.

We spent all of 2022 consulting on the framework, but the project will continue into 2023 and has the potential to professionalise our industry even further.

We’ve already had our first meeting this year, and 2023 looks full of many more projects supporting BPCA members! If you want to join in the fun, contact us today to volunteer your time!

Martin Rose-King

Outreach and Communications committee report: Time flies

"In 2022, we had five big projects to oversee, and we’ve been smashing it".

It’s been two incredible years since the inception of the BPCA Outreach and Communications Committee! O&C (as it’s affectionately known) was tasked with oversight of the influential work taking place in the area of public relations, public affairs and member communications.

What does that mean?

Well, members of the O&C help steer how we talk to the press, end-users, governments, civil servants, our members and the sector as a whole. 

Prior to O&C, little volunteer time was allocated to communications. However, the triumphant accomplishments of key worker status and the work being carried out around the glue board ban have demonstrated the great importance of this field.

We’re one of the smaller committees and, as Chair, I am so grateful for all of the active participation from the committee members. Thank you! 

In 2022, we had five big projects to oversee, and we’ve been smashing it.

Ian Andrew and Scott Johnstone have worked hard to get pest management on the national policy agenda by getting in front of MPs, ministers and civil servants.

Lauren Day has been setting up prestigious outreach events, and we’ve already had one in Westminster Palace. We hope to host events at the Welsh Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Irish Assembly over the next three years. 

Member volunteer Paul McCann has worked closely with Kat Shaw on trying to understand the services that local authorities offer and how they signpost to BPCA members. Member volunteers Christian Southall and Anna Mollins fed into a review of BPCA’s marketing strategy. Jamie Graham and Scott Johnstone have been instrumental in a large tech project that we’re hoping to unveil at PPC Live 2023.

Everyone on the Committee has been incredible, and I’d like to give a special shout-out to my Vice-chair Alex Wade and the Staff team for their consistent support. 

This is my last report for O&C as I’m stepping down as Chair to take on the challenge of chairing the BPCA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. However, Alex Wade will be stepping into the Chair’s chair – so the Committee is in safe hands.

If you’re interested in any of the work above or just want to find out more, please do reach out. We’re a small committee, and we’ve got a lot of work to do!

Julia Pittman