Pest managers interested in attending an educational session about how to avoid litigious situations can register their interest (details below).
Ongoing professional development is vital for the sustainability of our industry, and it is more than simply learning from a course. Whether it’s going out on site with other pest professionals and observing how they work, attending conferences, or posting a question in an online forum, there are many ways to ensure that you are always learning about your trade. What’s more, others in our industry are usually more than happy to assist and share their knowledge. From the newbie learning the ropes to the well experienced pest manager looking to upskill, or reinforcing current skill sets, training is an integral part of your industry.
A large portion of pest management training has moved from traditional apprenticeships to online-based courses. Is having access to all this pest control information at the touch of a button going to make the new generation of pest managers more highly skilled than previous generations who learned on the job, by way of an apprenticeship? Perhaps not. While each style brings something different to the table, there is undeniably great value in spending time in the field, learning from others, from their expertise (and also sometimes, from their mistakes).
From an insurance perspective, we want to see you well educated and thus better armed to tackle your daily pest management activities. At Wallace Risk Solutions, we see many types of claims made against pest managers and timber pest inspectors. Many of the claims are of a similar nature and could perhaps have been avoided, had the pest management professional in question had greater skills in a particular area.
In early/mid 2020, our plan is to establish an annual event that discusses inspections, both timber pest and building. The idea is for it to be conducted in each state, starting in Victoria, and if successful rolling it out around the country. The event will provide information and education, from an insurer’s point of view, about the claims we are seeing, the reasons behind them, and to share what we are doing to help reduce them. It is not a ‘training’ event as such, more of an educational session whereby pest inspectors can learn how to avoid common pitfalls, ones that have potentially serious consequences.
Pest managers interested in attending can register their interest online or email [email protected].
James Wallace, Director, Wallace Risk Solutions
