National Pest Awards Young Pest Controller 2022

Syngenta Profesional Solutions is the Principal Sponsor of the National Pest Awards. Find out more about the Awards here.

Nominations for Young Pest Controller of the Year 2022 are:

 

Chloe Smith, Pest Solutions

Chloe Smith joined Pest Solutions in March 2021 as a graduate service technician; she gained a strong score in Level 2 Award after five months and will sit the Certified Advanced Technician exam in November.

Chloe said she is driven, professional, friendly, and outgoing.

“I go the extra mile and am passionate about my role as a professional woman in the industry,” Chloe said.

Chloe graduated with a BSc (hons) in Psychology from the University of Stirling in 2017 and with a MSc in Environmental Health Science from the University of Strathclyde in 2018.

“The continuous training on the job, online and studying towards exams is beneficial for me and building my confidence, but also for educating customers,” Chloe said.

Chloe said she has an urge to experience what pest control is like in different countries and learning about pest species they encounter.

Chloe was shocked to be short-listed and said she really didn’t expect it.

“Winning the award would be amazing, but I’d probably be speechless to be honest,” she added.

 

Joe Strong, Beaver Pest Control

Joe Strong started working for Beaver Pest Control in January 2016, just a few days after his 20th birthday.

He spent three years working in the company’s bird team, where he carried out various in-house and external training courses. Alongside the bird work he still maintained a list of pest control customers.

In 2019, he left the bird team to take on a new challenge in the proofing team within the pest division. During his time as part of the proofing team,he took on a team leader position sharing his proofing knowledge, skills and tips with other technicians.

Joe said: “The training I have received has supported me in my career progression.”

Joe’s current role is division manager for pest exclusion and drainage.

“I was also team leader for the decontamination team, which was set up during Covid to carry out specialist cleaning,” Joe said. Joe said it was great to be named a finalist in this year’s awards.

“It would be great to win and to be recognised, but getting short-listed is an achievement too,” he said.

 

Gemma Sutherland, Pest Solutions

Gemma Sutherland joined Pest Solutions in January 2021 as a graduate service technician. She graduated with a BSc(hons) in Zoology from Glasgow University during the initial Covid-19 lockdown.

Using skills and a love of animal biology and behaviour, Gemma said that she has worked hard to learn as much as she can about how to overcome these issues.

Gemma said: “I want to be the best I can be; I am quite hard on myself and push myself to be better tomorrow than today.”

She will take the CAT exam this year and next year she wants to become a certified field biologist.

Gemma said it was “super exciting” to be short-listed in this category.

“It would be brilliant to win the award,” she said.

“It would be an opportunity to inspire and hopefully encourage other young women to consider a rewarding career in the pest control industry, and prove that we can be seen as professionals in the same way that men are.”