Training | PPC93 December 2018

Everyone in the sector seems to have an opinion on BPCA Registered – BPCA’s new in-house individual recognition scheme. We’ve taken a list of the most commonly asked questions about the scheme and asked Ian Andrew, BPCA Chief Exec, to answer them for PPC readers.

SPEED READ

• BPCA Registered has been created because members asked for us to recognise individual employees and run our own CPD scheme
• There will be three categories at launch and new categories are planned to recognise higher achievements
• The scheme recognises unstructured CPD – no matter how you’ve learned something, it can be counted
• Individual techs will be able to show they are qualified to carry out pest control with the BPCA Registered card
• Both individual employees and company admins will be able to manage their CPD online.

Why is BPCA introducing a new continuing professional development (CPD) scheme?

BPCA was the first membership organisation within the sector to make qualification and CPD achievement mandatory for its technical employees. For a long time, BPCA members have been asking that we recognise and reward their employees for this commitment to professionalism.

As a membership association we exist to meet the needs of our members so when it became apparent that a majority of members also wanted BPCA to manage their CPD scheme, we felt now was the time to look at how we could deliver both these member requirements within one package.

The result is BPCA Registered. The scheme uses qualification achievement to categorise their technical skills and knowledge, alongside a CPD scheme. The CPD scheme includes using the approach of analysis and reflection to recognise learning that takes place informally and in the field as a valid contribution to continuing professional development.

BPCA Registered is only open to BPCA member companies and we believe that this will become a significant member benefit.

How do BPCA Registered categories work?

To launch we will have three categories:

• BPCA Registered Affiliate will recognise those working in a non-technical role within the pest management sector.
• BPCA Registered Trainee is for those employees who are working towards becoming qualified pest controllers. For example, those working on a company traineeship or a recognised apprenticeship programme. As with our membership criteria, these employees will have a maximum of 18 months to become qualified. 
• BPCA Registered Technician is for those member technicians who have achieved a minimum of the Level 2 qualification (or equivalent). 

As the scheme develops over the next couple of years, additional categories will be added, recognising those employees who have committed to higher qualifications. While the detail of these categories has still to be worked out, the diagram below explains how employees could progress in the future.

How does BPCA Registered differ from other CPD schemes currently on the market?

Ultimately we want CPD to actually reflect a commitment to continuing professional development. CPD shouldn’t be about collecting a specified amount of points per year. It’s about progressive development year-on-year. Rather than focusing on points, we want employees to focus on specific areas they want to develop and then set new goals once they’ve achieved those.

To support this, BPCA Registered will recognise CPD that is reflective of the pest controller’s role, introducing ‘unstructured learning’ and ‘reflection’ into the scheme.

This means that when an employee has learned something new, perhaps through watching a colleague carry out a specialist activity or through a discussion with a technical adviser, this learning will be recognised as CPD.

These points can be added by the employee after undertaking some reflection. This will mean answering a few simple questions online such as:

• What have I done?
• What have I learned?
• How will this enable me to do my job better? 

This isn’t an onerous task, just a few sentences and the job is done.

Structured CPD, such as classroom and online training courses, attendance at events and exhibitions, etc, are all still relevant and important to CPD. We will ensure that we have the widest range of these types of activities available to our member employees.

As well as BPCA activities, we will partner with many training providers and event organisers and you’ll be able to access their events easily through the BPCA Registered web portal.

What are the key benefits of BPCA Registered? 

A key benefit for members of BPCA Registered is that individual technicians will be able to demonstrate that they are qualified to carry out pest management activities.

As part of the scheme, technicians will receive their own ID card which clearly states the qualifications they hold and the date that they achieved them, with expiry dates where relevant. The card also carries confirmation that they are a BPCA Registered technician, trainee or affiliate.

Another key benefit is that technicians, or company administrators, can better manage the planning and collection of CPD. Each individual technician will have their own personalised CPD webpage where they can log in and see how many CPD points they currently have, what qualifications we hold for them and what CPD activities are available to them to achieve what they are looking to achieve.

Through this page, technicians can access their personal CPD accounts where they can reflect on and upload for themselves CPD that’s been achieved informally or during their day-to-day work.

Also available to them is our brand new online learning site which enables technicians to collect CPD through online training courses and technical quizzes. The benefit here is that, once these are completed, CPD points will be automatically allocated to the technician’s account, enabling real-time updates.

This integrated approach makes the whole CPD process much more convenient and efficient for the pest controller and member companies.

How many CPD points do you need to achieve each year?

All BPCA Registered employees will be required to meet a minimum requirement of 20 CPD points per annum. However, employees can build up as many points as they need to achieve their development goal for the year.

FIND OUT MORE

bpca.org.uk/registered
registered@bpca.org.uk