Pest control technician Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Pest control technician

Hours

30-40 per week
Starting salary

£13,000 + per year

The work

As a pest control technician, it would be your job to get rid of infestations of pests and vermin. You would use a range of chemicals and equipment to deal with insect pests and animals such as rats, mice, foxes, moles and birds (known as vertebrate pests).

You might treat infestations anywhere from people’s homes to restaurants, sewers, warehouses or farms. Your work would include:

investigating and identifying pests
collecting dead animals and other samples for scientific analysis
finding out how the pests are getting in
choosing the most suitable way of controlling the pest
spraying chemicals to get rid of insects (known as 'fumigation')
laying poison and traps or using weapons such as air-guns to control birds and animals
proofing an area to stop pests returning
advising people how to prevent further infestation
completing reports and keeping records
following the correct procedures for handling and storing pesticides and disposing of dead or captured animals.

With experience you might specialise in dealing with one type of pest.

Hours

A typical working week would be Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You may work longer hours in the summer months when there are more pests to deal with.

You would usually work alone and drive to jobs in a van with treatment equipment.

You could work indoors or outside, depending on the type of pest you were dealing with. You may need to crawl into confined spaces or climb ladders. The work can be unpleasant, but you would wear protective clothing such as overalls, gloves and face masks.

Income

Starting salaries can be between £13,000 and £16,000 a year
With qualifications and experience, earnings can be up to £25,000.

Some companies may pay extra in commission, bonuses or petrol allowance.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

Employers may not always ask for formal qualifications. However, you should feel comfortable with English and basic maths as you will need to study for pest control qualifications and calculate correct dosages of chemicals.

You will usually need a driving licence and often at least two years' driving experience.

The job involves working with toxic chemicals, so you should not suffer from asthma or allergies.

Previous experience in the building trade or in handling chemicals may be useful, but you can often get into pest control without experience because training is normally provided on the job.

Training and development

You will be trained on the job by experienced staff. Some larger pest control companies run their own structured in-house training programmes.

Your training may include courses and qualifications from the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), British Pest Control Association (BPCA), or the National Pest Technicians' Association (NPTA).

The main entry-level qualification you can work towards is the RSPH/BPCA Level 2 Award/Certificate in Pest Management. See the RSPH and BPCA websites for more information..

You can then go on to take more advanced qualifications such as the:

RSPH/BPCA Level 3 Diploma in Pest Management
BPCA Fumigation Certificate of Proficiency, and Fumigation Diploma.

See the BPCA's website for more details.

The NPTA offers a range of short courses in specialist types of pest control.

As a qualified and experienced technician, you can prove your level of training and competence by joining a professional registration scheme such as:

NPTA Professional Pest Technician Registration Scheme (PPTRS)
BASIS Professional Register of Managers and Pest Technicians (PROMPT).

To join, you will need either a recognised qualification in pest control, or in-house training from one of the large pest control companies. Visit the links for more information on the schemes..

Skills and knowledge

good communication and customer service skills
practical skills
the ability to cope with unpleasant sights and smells
physical fitness and good eyesight
confidence with basic maths, for measuring and calculating doses of pesticides
awareness of health and safety and the environment.

More information

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
Careers Advice: careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

British Pest Control Association (BPCA) (Opens new window)
Ground Floor
Gleneagles House
Vernongate
Derby
DE1 1UP
Tel: 0870 609 2687
www.bpca.org.uk

National Pest Technicians Association (NPTA) (Opens new window)
NPTA House
Hall Lane
Kinoulton
Nottingham
NG12 3EF
Tel: 01949 81133
www.npta.org.uk

Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) (Opens new window)
John Snow House
59 Mansell Street
London E1 8AN
Telephone number 0207 265 7300
www.rsph.org.uk

British Wood Preserving and Damp-Proofing Association (BWPDA) (Opens new window)
www.bwpda.co.uk

Opportunities

You could work for local authority environmental health departments, or private pest control companies. Jobs may be advertised in the local press, in Jobcentre Plus and industry websites and publications.

With experience you could be promoted to supervisor or manager. Alternatively, you could become self-employed.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The facilities management industry is part of the housing, property and planning, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, which is represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce has continued to grow since 1998 and represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The facilities management industry covers all types of management of services which includes: ‘hard’ services, such as property and estates management, building maintenance, energy management, environmental protection; and ‘soft’ services, such as cleaning, security, reception and customer care. The lack of understanding around facilities management roles makes both career pathways and qualification structures difficult to define. However, progression routes continue to be developed and there is now a range of work‐based qualifications allowing candidates to study from level 3 upwards.

Key facts:

The UK market for facilities management contracts is estimated to be between £10‐173 billion per year.
There are 136,900 people working in the facilities management industry in 14,400 companies.
91% of all facilities management organisations have 10 or less employees.
Facilities management is seen as a relatively new sector and companies seem positive with 74% expecting to grow.

Jobs in the industry include: assistant facilities coordinator; facilities manager; support services manager (such as cleaning, catering or security); building maintenance personnel; and emerging jobs such as environmental management, sustainability in response to legislation and changes to building design and risk management.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of facilities management sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	5,900	The East Midlands employs 5% of the facilities management workforce. A significant proportion of the workforce is employed on a part‐time basis (62%)
East Of England	11,500	The East of England employs 5% of the facilities management workforce, with employment evenly distributed between full‐ and part‐time work
London	29,900	London is the largest employer of the facilities management sector in England (26%). A high proportion (76%) of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis and the majority (74%) is male
North East	3,100	The region has 3% of the facilities management workforce, with the majority aged 25‐54 (94%)
North West	12,700	The North West region employs 11% of the facilities management sector. The majority of the workforce (85%) is aged between 25‐54
South East	15,500	The South East employs 13% of the facilities management workforce. A significant proportion of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (76%), with men making up 62% of employees
South West	11,200	The South West region employs 10% of the facilities management sector. A significant proportion of the workforce is aged over 55 (42%)
West Midlands	10,000	The West Midlands has a high proportion of its workforce employed on a full‐time basis (85%). The majority of the workforce is aged 25 and over
Yorkshire & The Humber	15,100	Identical to the South East, the Yorkshire and the Humber region employs 13% of the facilities management workforce. This region accounts for the highest proportion of full‐time employment (91%).
Scotland	19,200	Scotland employs 14% of the facilities management sector workforce across the UK. The majority of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (75%), is aged 25‐54 (81%) and is female (64%)
Wales	2,800	Wales employs 2% of the facilities management sector workforce across the UK. The majority of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (83%), is aged 25‐54 (70%) and is male (77%)
Northern Ireland	*

Source: Annual Business Inquiry, 2008
* Due to a low sample size, information on the number of employees and characteristics of the facilities management sector in Northern Ireland has been excluded.