National certificate in urban pest management (level 2)

By JANINE OGIER

THE COURSE

The national certificate in urban pest management (level 2) is the only qualification of its kind for workers in the pest control industry.

Graduates become registered with the Pest Management Association and are in demand as there is a shortage of registered pest controllers.

Students receive full training in controlling insects, rodents and birds in commercial, industrial and domestic buildings.

Graduates can work under supervision as a pest control technician, as a pesticides salesperson, or as a hygiene officer in food processing.

Students learn general workplace skills such as health and safety practice, writing reports, oral presentation, client service and attending to customer inquiries.

People study the Open Polytechnic courses at home in their own time. Completing the certificate usually takes two years of part-time study or approximately 600-700 hours of study, depending on students' experience.

Students complete 14 compulsory units and pick one option. They need to gain 63 to 78 credits to complete the certificate. They can enrol at any time of the year and have 12 months from enrolment to complete each module.

Mentors from the Pest Management Association provide on-job training for students who are not working in the industry. Assessment involves written assignments and some on-job assessment by experienced pest technicians.

Students can follow up the level 2 certificate with specialisation for a level 3 certificate, also offered by the Open Polytechnic. The options for specialisation include fumigation, vertebrate pests, wood borer, bird control, pest shooting and textile pests.

Course fees range from $50 to $220 and an administration fee of $35 is payable for each year of enrolment. The net cost to get the qualification is just over $1500.

Entry to the certificate is open.

People who are already working in the industry enrol through the Building Service Contractors Industry Training Organisation, while other students enrol directly with the Open Polytechnic.

WHAT PAST STUDENTS THINK

Maihi Cooper, 24

Pest control technician

Rentokil

Auckland

Graduated 2002

"I got a job at Rentokil and part of the progression of the role is to do the course so you can get registered.

"The course opened up opportunities in the job - it's the benchmark if you get the certificate. It proves you know what you are doing.

"Everything on the course was useful. It was knowledge that you needed to know day-to-day. It's very thorough and in-depth.

"There was technical information on different pest species and their habits and life cycle and also the customer service side of dealing with the public.

"I was lucky that the company provides us with time to do the course. I spaced it out over a year in between work. It was not too difficult as I had a lot of support at work.

"There's quite a shortage of registered technicians throughout New Zealand so I'm in demand and there's plenty of opportunities to move up in the job."

WHAT EMPLOYERS THINK

Phill Murray

Branch manager

Rentokil

Auckland

"Being a large company, if we have registered service technicians it makes us very marketable in selling our services. It makes us very reputable in the marketplace.

"The course is good for staff professionalism, experience and credibility.

"The programme is all encompassing, providing all the pest management skills they need.

"A few people go off their own bat and sit the course themselves and if they do they are very marketable in the marketplace.

"If someone wants a job and they have sat the course and passed, chances are they will fly into a job with a pest control company. There is a shortage of registered people at the moment.

"When we take on trainees we have a couple of internal modules ourselves and that helps them to get to the point when we can put them on the course.

"We pay all the costs and we help them get through it and we allocate the necessary time."

NATIONAL CERTIFICATE IN URBAN PEST MANAGEMENT (LEVEL 2)

The Open Polytechnic

Contact by email or phone 0508 650 200 ext 5605