President foreword | PPC96 August 2019

How do you decide whether your membership is value for money or not?

Domestic work trickles in from the ‘Find a pest controller’ tool.

Your membership certificate and logo will help you open doors to bigger contracts.

Calling the technical team is a useful way to get a free second opinion or some advice.

Free CHAS accreditation saves you a few hundred quid a year, and you might even dip in to pick up a few cheap print materials from the PrintShop.

For most, joining and staying with BPCA is easy to justify. It’s a business decision.

For me, member benefits are greater than membership fees. But is that all membership means to you?

Representation

I’m sure we’re all well aware of the general licence for bird control fiasco our industry has just gone through.

The full details of what’s happened, what’s changed, and what’s likely to happen in the future are on page 19, but I think it’s a great example of how being a part of your trade association gives you a voice beyond the sector.

Not only was BPCA getting news and guidance out to the sector quickly (thereby making sure you weren’t needlessly losing business or ending up on the wrong side of the law), but we were camping out on Natural England’s and Defra’s doorsteps.

BPCA was in meetings, on the phone and writing letters to decision-makers to make sure you had a fit-for-purpose, legal framework in which to protect public health.

The Staff team had a few late nights working on comms, guidance and lobbying various departments to make sure your views were represented.

What’s more, BPCA has earned a seat at the table, so when further reform comes (and it will come), BPCA members can be sure that someone is looking out for them.

PPC Live 2020

The Staff team has started putting together an ambitious schedule for PPC Live 2020 - a one-day event designed for frontline staff and pest management professionals.

This time we’ll focus on increasing practical sessions, both outdoors and indoors.

Visitors will still get an exhibition with all the leading manufacturers and distributors in attendance, plus a presentation-based seminar schedule.

But this time you’ll also get the opportunity to visit more practical outdoor sessions and a new indoor demonstration theatre.

Attendees will get some hands-on training bites and take away practical experiences.

Getting hundreds of professionals together is a huge feat that BPCA achieves regularly at Regional Forums, PestEx and PPC Live.

Of all the things BPCA produces, when I see crowds of members and non-members learning from each other and discovering something new about their trade, I can’t help but feel proud of our sector.

You can see some of our plans on page 2. I hope that no matter where you are in your pest control career, you’ll come along to PPC Live and share some experiences with your community.

Pest management can be a lonely job sometimes, so we ought to put some time aside to connect with each other.

Moving us forward

We have a big update about what’s happening with BPCA’s new Professionalism Working Group.

Members are asking big questions about the future of our sector.

One of our strategic goals is to champion the professionalism of the pest management sector, but what does that actually mean?

BPCA members have always been the champions of professionalism.

Minimum qualification standards, CPD and proper standardised audits are old news for BPCA members.

Now we’re looking at what the next steps of our professional journey should look like.

We all have an opinion on the direction of our sector and, as part of BPCA, you can have your say.

Democracy rules

BPCA is a member-led democracy.

At our AGM we welcomed Chris Cagienard, Chris Corbett, Malcolm Stowell and Grahame Turner to the Executive Board.

They’re all from servicing companies of various sizes with a genuine interest in making the sector a better place for all our businesses.

We all have an opportunity to contribute and set the direction of our Association.

Special interest groups, the various committees of the board and working groups are all made up of passionate members.

If you want to be more involved, pick up the phone and ask the Staff team about all the volunteer opportunities at BPCA.

More than a business decision

Back to my original question: how do you decide whether your membership is value for money?

You can do a cost-benefit analysis and decide that membership is good for your bottom line.

Alternatively, you can be proud of the fact that you’re a part of the trade association representing you in front of legislators.

You can take pride in the fact you’re a part of the Association connecting the sector through comms and events.

You can be proud of your commitment to championing a professional community of pest management companies. 

For me, BPCA is much more than a list of member benefits.

Phil Halpin
BPCA President
Director, Countrywide Environmental Services
president@bpca.org.uk

Source: PPC96