Pest Awareness Training
Food retailers expect the people working on your site to be trained. The Tesco specification goes further and requires a trained company employee to be accountable for the pest control programme. Shield delivers that training on your site, around your shifts.
At a Glance
Pest awareness training gives staff a working knowledge of the major pest species, the legislation governing pest control, and why hygiene, housekeeping and proofing prevent infestations. Shield’s course runs across ten sections covering pest identification, control methods, legislation, audit conformance, rodent biology, hygiene and proofing. It ends with an assessment of up to 15 questions, and successful delegates receive a certificate for the audit file.
Why It Is Expected
Over the past decade retailers have moved from encouraging training to requiring it. The Tesco specification states that a trained company employee must be accountable for managing the pest control programme.
Training certificates sit in the same evidence pack as your risk assessment and trend analysis. An auditor asking who is accountable expects a name and a certificate, not a job title. SALSA Issue 7 goes further: clause 1.9.1 now requires the methods of pest control to be communicated to all staff, which is a training record.
A clean, well maintained and pest-proofed building will usually result in a pest free environment. Most of what achieves that is done by your staff, not by your contractor.
Course Content
Ten sections delivered as six teaching modules, each with real-world examples and discussion built in.
Defining what constitutes a pest, the species common to food production, and the consequences of an infestation for food safety, product quality and reputation.
The methods available — traps, baits, monitoring and exclusion — how they are applied in a working facility, and how the right method is chosen.
The legal requirements governing pest control in food production, and how a facility demonstrates it remains compliant.
What auditors assess, how to prepare, and worked examples including bait formulations as they appear in an audit.
Biology, signs of activity and control for the pests that matter most, so staff recognise a problem at the point it starts.
Why housekeeping is critical, and the full range of proofing measures that keep pests out of the building in the first place.
Assessment & Certificate
Questions are taken during and at the end of the session, so delegates leave with their own site’s issues addressed rather than a generic overview.
On completion there is a short assessment of up to 15 questions covering the material discussed during the training.
Successful delegates receive a Shield training certificate, issued to satisfy auditory requirements and ready to file with your pest management documentation.
Learning Outcomes
Recognise the species found in food production and the signs each one leaves.
Articulate the risk pests pose to food safety, product and reputation.
Understand which methods suit which situation, and why.
Know the legal requirements that govern pest control on a food site.
Understand what an auditor assesses and how a facility demonstrates conformance.
Use the sighting log and reporting route correctly, so a sighting becomes a record rather than a rumour.
Delivery
The course is delivered by people who do the work, not by a training company reading from a deck. Sessions are scheduled around production and shift patterns, and the examples used are the ones your sector actually faces. Where a site has a particular recurring issue, that issue is built into the session rather than left for a question at the end.
Putting It Into Practice
The course closes with a practical exercise rather than a quiz. Delegates develop a pest management plan for their own facility: a pest profile and vulnerability assessment, preventive and reactive control strategies, a compliance checklist against the relevant legislation and audit standards, a hygiene and housekeeping schedule with named responsibilities, proofing measures for the building, and a staff awareness programme to keep it current. It is assessed on completeness, feasibility, compliance and practicality — which is the same list an auditor works from.
Who Should Attend
The employee held accountable for the programme under the retailer specification.
The people who face the auditor and own the documentation.
The people whose daily housekeeping determines whether the site has a problem.
The people who authorise the proofing work and hold the budget for it.
Client Feedback
“Shield’s pest awareness training for our food production team was fantastic. The course was informative, engaging, and tailored to our specific needs. It’s greatly improved our team’s understanding of pest prevention.”
Food Production
“Shield’s audit compliance support for our BRCGS certification has been invaluable. Their knowledge of the standards has made our audits much more streamlined.”
Food Manufacturing
“We’ve been using Shield’s Insectram reporting system and it has changed how we manage pest control. Real-time updates and trend analysis keep us proactive.”
Multi-site Facilities
Tell us your site, your sector and roughly how many people need training, and we will come back with dates and what the session will cover for your operation.
A: Any food site where a retailer specification applies. The Tesco specification requires a trained company employee to be accountable for managing the pest control programme, and auditors will ask who that is.
A: Yes. The course ends with an assessment of up to 15 questions, and successful delegates receive a Shield training certificate issued to satisfy auditory requirements.
A: On your site, scheduled around your production and shift patterns, and taught by BPCA-qualified technicians who service commercial food sites every week.
