Why Pest Control Needs to Be Seen as a Real Career clip | Pest Perspectives EP 4

0:00 through other CPD outlets that are available, then if it works best for you, then it's a personal choice. It is, most definitely.

0:12 If you were, I mean, I don't mean a field biologist, I mean somebody who wants to get into the pest control industry, how would you recommend they go about getting in, say they want it to be a tech, but yeah, if they want it to be a tech, how would people that are just coming into the industry, how would you suggest would you suggest they bring up pest control companies trying to get jobs or would you recommend they get their training in first before they try or do you be honest with you sure i don't think people i don't think people think about a pest control job i think the only time people think about a pest control job is if they they want another job and they know someone else who does it but you might be because a lot of like well some wants to be a pest controller bless him but uh that's because that's because of me but i don't think in like schools and like uh secondary schools that it's a job that ever comes up or mentioned because it's not seen as a career well it's not yeah there's there's no career path really is there there's nobody that goes to a careers opening day at the schools and say come and join pest control this is what you can do you can strive to be an entomologist or you know a zoologist or something you can

1:27 do about you could become a biologist you could be a technician a great technician yeah you know there's lots of things you can do the industry that's something probably got to work on i might suggest that at some point try and get more into that we were looking years ago we were looking into there's exhibitions um we do obviously we do you know ppc live and the british and Pestec and everything and Pestec and everything. But there's nothing that we actually advertise by way of an exhibition for people looking for a career.

2:05 Okay. Is there? We don't tag ourselves onto these exhibitions where, like, for example, ex ex are with it Oh okay We were looking at doing something like that years ago Yeah You know going to some of their seminars going to some of their career advice sessions and saying hey have you thought about pest control but nobody ever did anything about it nobody ever did this yeah you've given me some food for thought with this you have it's uh you are right there's no i mean i see i see it It's a career because I was in a dead end job for 16 plus years.

2:45 And this is the best job, well, best career I've ever had because I was in a dead end job, literally, like eight to four. And that was it. Sean, you've got a passion for it. The same as I've got a passion for it, you know, which is why you do things like this, which is why I do what I do. We've got to share that passion around the industry. We've got to get out of this mindset that people are just a box checker or just a technician. a technician is a fantastic job to have you know you basically we're life savers we save people's lives on a regular basis this is why we're specialist workers you know we save people's lives we go out to people's houses and we get rid of their problems that could cause life-threatening illnesses but you know our industry has never shown like that if we were pushed to say look you know we are a professional industry this is what we do we go out and we save people's lives maybe if we made it more appealing than and attractive then people might go hang on a minute yeah i think i'd quite like to go test control because this is what i can do give me some ideas yeah because uh you're off there because in the next five years they reckon bpca had a statistic that over 50 or under 50 percent of industries due to retire and that's a real big problem industry.

4:08 It is, because think of all the experience that's going to go. Yeah, a lot of experience is going to go. And this is why we need to pull these youngsters in, pull them in and show them that you can have a career in pest control. Yeah, let's give me some thoughts. It's not just doing what your mate does down the road or something that he's told you, oh yeah, it's just a job. No, we need to make it more attractive and we need to push the opportunities It a hard one as well One of the biggest problems is getting young people but another problem is it a problem that I don think anyone can tackle Sky high van insurance for the under 30s That's a big problem.

4:48 That's not one no one can actually tackle because they're the same in all. But it's a combination, isn't it? Because a lot of kids don't know what a pest controller is. I couldn't do that. We're never shown, are we? We're never on the list of preferred jobs. We're never on the list of, you know, when they're having these career open days at school. You don't see Oak and Pest Control standing there with a really nice stand, you know, with all the pop-ups, with the opportunities and everything that you can, you know, that you could do.

5:18 It could be an avenue the trade bodies could try. So it could be. Because, yeah, that is a big concern for the industry, is the hypertension people retiring. So it could be something that could be looked at, that could be. Well, I know some people go to these, you know, these county shows, the big county shows that you can get? Yes, yeah. And they have a stand at the county show, and they may sell some bait boxes, not obviously redenticide, professional, but, you know, their amateur stuff. Yeah.

5:52 Also, they have an opportunity to talk to the youngsters. Oh, okay. teenagers, you know, about have you ever thought about a career in pest control? I didn't know, you know, what you did, you just go and put poison in boxes. No, we don't do that. Give me an opportunity to tell you more about it. Yeah. Also, with the digital monitoring, with digital monitoring and a lot of the technology, that should start to interest a lot of the kids, but they don't know about pest control to start with, do they?

6:23 They don't. If they don't know about it, they won't. The problem with a lot of kids, and I'm not saying it's a problem with a lot of kids, I think a lot of children, a lot of youngsters haven't had the opportunities to go out into, not the world, but when I was a kid in the village, we lived in a village in Suffolk, and school holidays, we'd disappear, and we'd go and have your breakfast and disappear, and we'd come back for tea. Yeah There not the opportunities to do that The world is not a safer place the way it used to be When I was a kid I used to do that when I was a kid as well But I don think the world Is less safe I just think that it's publicised now isn't it I think it happened It just publicised everywhere There's publicised but there's too much To do We never had Thingy games Oh yeah Xbox etc We've never had anything like that at all.

7:24 No, you are right. You've got a good point. You can watch the stuff on telly, which your mum didn't let you watch too much of it, or you can go out in the sunshine. Yeah. And, you know, my grandsons, my grandsons are only little, but they're always out. Yeah, that's good. And they're looking in the park and, you know, getting out and about. We need out children that like being outdoors. You do. You are right. Because, yeah, you got your gaming, you got your VR and everything, virtual reality. you brought us some great points we're a very very technical society now my kids can't believe that I grew up without the internet on a mobile phone your daddy you're well old the worst thing that could have happened was the internet wasn't it, it took away all the books yeah it did all the books are on well books still sell reading and yep unfortunately but yeah it's one of them things but yeah it's been you've got some good subjects tonight on this show where I didn't even think about you've got some serious ideas there you have about the next fight I would say that's involved in the next five years of pest control, the young people trying to get more people in as well but yeah, it's a real good opinion the experience that we're going to lose yeah, so as a part of a trade body I'm going to put some ideas forward, see what happens yeah absolutely have a word have a word with some of the others you know about maybe I don't know Pest Control Academy or something like that you know the opportunities are endless really they are they are so that's food for thought anyway but it's been a really fun podcast Debbie and I've learned a lot and I'm hoping others have learned and now if you didn't know

9:15 how to become a field biologist you do so hopefully