Continuing Ed Credits

BC Ministry of Environment Continuing Education Program

The BC Ministry of Environment (MoE) Continuing Education Program for recertification allows a candidate with a 5-year Pesticide Applicator Certificate to receive credits toward recertification by attending courses of instruction over a number of years. These credits are referred to as Continuing Education Credits (CECs).

IVMA of BC manages recertification credits for the following license categories:

Aerial
Forestry
Industrial Vegetation (which includes Noxious Weeds)

For more details on the BC Ministry Pest Management Program, see the Pesticides and Pest Management page at this link:

Pesticides and Pest Management

The following is the BC Government CEC Policy for Recertification:

Continuing Education Credit System for Recertification of Pesticide Applicators

How the Program Works

This valuable service for IVMA of BC members allows recertification for pesticide applicators WITHOUT the need for rewriting the applicator exam.

Once you hold a valid 5-year Pesticide Applicator Certificate, there are two ways to become recertified as a Pesticide Applicator:

By writing an exam, or
By registering in the Continuing Education Credits program and collecting credits each time you attend credit-certified conferences, training sessions, workshops and webinars which are endorsed and sanctioned under the MoE/IVMA of BC program.

To participate in the program, a candidate must have passed the initial government exam and obtained a five-year certificate in a License Category managed by the IVMA of BC which are: Aerial, Forestry, and Industrial Vegetation (which includes Noxious Weeds). This means that you must have had an exam score of 75% or more. A 1-year certificate with an exam score of 60-74% does not qualify.

IVMA of BC Membership

To accumulate credits toward recertification through IVMA of BC, you must be a member in good standing at the time your credits are acquired. If you are not yet a member of IVMA of BC and would like to join, a Membership and Continuing Education Credit Program Application Form is available for your convenience. Alternatively, you can register as a member online on our Become a Member page. The cost is $50.00 per year.

Obtaining Recertification – Number of Credits Required

A minimum of 20 CECs are required for recertification. The CECs are calculated generally on the basis that one CEC is received for one hour of training. The 20 CECs should be acquired over the 5 years prior to your Pesticide Applicator Certificate expiration. Without the proper number of points in the right categories, the MoE will not recertify you and you will need to re-take the exam.

If your certificate has expired, there is a grace period of 12 months for you to collect the remaining required CECs without having to re-take the exam. However, once the certificate has expired, it is no longer valid and you may not apply herbicides under that certificate. The IVMA of BC recommends that applicators spread out their training evenly over the 5 year period. The program is designed for ongoing education and collecting all CECs in a short period of time would defeat this purpose. In addition, it would be very difficult to collect all 20 points in a one year period.

CEC course materials must be related to one of the following certificate examination matters/categories:

General Pesticide Characteristics
Act and Regulations
Labelling
Human Health
Pesticide Safety
Environment
Pest Management
Application Technology
Emergency Response
Professionalism

Within the 20 CECs required for recertification, there must be a minimum of 3 hours training (3 CECs) in each of these following topics:

3 CECs concerned with Integrated Pest Management
- pest identification and biology
- pest prevention
- monitoring methods
- action and injury levels
- management methods, including pesticide alternatives and decision making
- evaluation of results

3 CECs concerned with Human Health and/or Pesticide Safety
- pesticide labels and label comprehension
- legislation
- toxicity
- emergency response (first aid, spills, fires)
- protective clothing and equipment

3 CECs concerned with Application Technology
- equipment selection
- proper equipment set-up, use and maintenance
- equipment calibration and pesticide use calculations
- pesticide products and factors affecting their use and performance
- safe procedures for storage, transport, mixing, application, cleanup and disposal

Obtaining Continuing Education Credits

CECs are earned when you complete ongoing education events such as conference/forum presentations or webinars relating to pesticide use. All CECs must be approved by the Ministry of Environment Administrator before the course is offered, so you need to check that the training session is approved before you attend. Points cannot be awarded retroactively so the session can’t be certified after you take it, nor can you retroactively claim attendance.

Please note that it is each applicator’s responsibility to ensure that credit is received for each session attended and to ensure that enough credits, in the correct categories, are obtained to qualify for recertification.

Training opportunities could include:

The IVMA of BC which works with several associations to increase training opportunities at conferences and forums in BC and Alberta. The following conferences or forums usually have presentations that are approved for CECs:
- the IVMA of BC Biennial Conference/Forum every second year
- the Invasive Species Council (ISC) of BC Annual Forum and AGM
- the Professional Vegetation Management Association in Alberta Annual Conference and AGM
- the Western Forestry Contractors Association Annual Conference, Expo and AGM
Viewing approved training videos where continued attendance of an individual has been verified.
Field demonstrations or equipment demonstrations in which continued attendance is verified.
Training sessions or workshops developed in-house.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SIGN THE ATTENDANCE SHEETS AT EACH IN-PERSON ACCREDITED TRAINING SESSION. OTHERWISE THERE IS NO WAY TO VERIFY YOUR ATTENDANCE AND YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE CREDIT(S).

Please make sure your information is legible: if it is not readable, it is not verifiable.
You will need to sign a separate sheet for each session attended.
You must sign during or immediately after the session (after-thought signups are not be permitted).

Signing the attendance record at sanctioned CEC program conferences, training sessions and workshops will ensure that your CECs will be documented by the IVMA of BC Credit Coordinator. You must be a member of the IVMA of BC at the time you attend courses for your credits to be documented.

ISC/IVMA Webinar Series

The ISC and the IVMA of BC have initiated a collaborative program to deliver 4 webinars per year. This is a shared plan for professional development webinars that can be jointly implemented and recognized by both organizations. The focus is on events that can be accredited for continuing education for the recertification of pesticide applicators. There is no cost to attend these webinars.

After the live webinar has been held, it will still be available for CEC credits on the ISC website through their learning management system. IVMA of BC members will be provided with a code to attend the webinar for free. There will be a cost of $15.00 for attendees who are not members of the ISC or the IVMA of BC.

Each webinar will qualify for one Continuing Education Credit. In order to obtain your credit, you will be required to:

provide your pesticide applicator certificate number when you register for the webinar
stay for the entire 60 minute presentation
answer the quiz at the end

PD Solutions

You can also attend web seminars through independent providers like Professional Development Solutions (www.pdsolutions.ca). Please make sure you’re taking BC accredited courses. PD Solutions is an educational company that delivers online webinars and webcasts to various organizations and people such as pesticide applicators, certified crop advisors, farmers and other professionals. You save on travel, hotel or meal costs as you do not have to travel to obtain a high level of education.

First Aid Certificates

The BC MoE has given approval to utilize valid Occupational First Aid (OFA) certificates toward CEC points:

A minimum (valid) Level 1 OFA certificate is required (must be WorkSafe BC approved).
This certificate must be valid (not expired) at the time of your Pesticide Certificate renewal.
One point will be awarded in the Human Health and/or Pesticide Safety category.

Where to Find Accredited Courses

The IVMA of BC continues to do our best to update our website (IVMA.com) with CEC training opportunities. We also provide regular updates in member emails. There tends to be more course offerings in the fall and winter since most IVMA of BC members are managing vegetation in the field during the summer.

How to Check Your Credit Status and Renew Your Pesticide Applicator Certificate

To enquire on the number of your accumulated credits, you must email the IVMA of BC Credit Coordinator (admin@ivma.com).

To renew your pesticide applicator certificate, we will require a copy of your current 5-year certificate. This can be faxed to us at 604-738-4080 or scan/emailed to admin@ivma.com. Please email your request at least one month prior to the expiration date of your certificate to ensure that your recertification is renewed before it expires.

The IVMA of BC Credit Coordinator will have a list of the courses you have taken that were approved for credits by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Administrator. Proof of your attendance will have been submitted to us by the organization hosting the training session. The coordinator will check the database to determine if you qualify for 20 credits, equivalent to 20 hours of training which is required for renewal. We will email a copy of this list to you for your review.

If you are a member of IVMA of BC in good standing and have met the requirements for renewal, the Coordinator will email a letter to the Pesticide Administrator at Service BC on your behalf, with a copy to you, confirming that you have met the requirements of the regulation and are eligible for recertification.

You now have 2 options for payment:

You may mail a printed copy of the letter sent to the Pesticide Administrator on your behalf, with a cheque payable to the Minister of Finance in the amount of $25.00, to:

Administrator Pesticide Program

Service BC

Ministry of Citizens’ Services

PO BOX 39

Golden, BC V0A 1H0

If you wish to pay by phone with a credit card, please call toll-free 1-866-205-2102 if you are in BC or 250-344-3406 if you are outside of BC, and leave a message. You will receive a call back in one business day, at which time you can provide your credit card information.

Hosting Training Sessions

If you are hosting a training session, workshop or conference and would like the session to be accredited in the Continuing Education Program, you must email the IVMA of BC (executivedirector@IVMA.com) at least 30 days prior to the event and be able to provide supporting documentation (according to IVMA of BC and BC MoE standards) in order to ensure the eligibility of the event for the Continuing Education Program. This includes:

the bio of the speaker
a title and abstract of the presentation
the length of the presentation

For more information on what is required, please email executivedirector@IVMA.com. If you are holding a virtual event, you must have the ability to record attendance of each individual to ensure that they attended for the entire presentation. It is recommended that you also hold a quiz to ensure that individuals paid attention to the material, although this is not a requirement. For events with in-person attendance, a sign-in sheet must be available and attendees must sign for each session they attend.

Ordering Study Materials

To order study materials for pesticide certification (writing the exam):

Study materials will be available for online purchase from the Crown Publications shopping cart.
Once purchased, materials will be shipped to customers.
The study materials will no longer be stocked items but will be printed to order and will take 7 to 10 business days to arrive.
Ordered study materials are not eligible for returns as per Crown Publications return policy.

The landing page for the Pesticide Certification study materials can be accessed via the “Quick Links” on the left-hand side of the webpage's shopping cart.

Reciprocity for Certification from Other Provinces

For out of province certificate holders wishing to work in BC, there is an option to write a reciprocity exam. The process to set this up is by contacting Service BC, as with the other exams. For more information, please contact 1-866-205-2102 (within BC) or 250-344-3406 (outside of BC).

A certification candidate who holds a valid pesticide certificate from another Canadian province can obtain a BC pesticide applicator certificate by writing an exam that is specifically on BC’s Act and Regulation. It is assumed that the applicator has received appropriate training on pesticide handling and application, having passed an exam based on the Canadian Pesticide Education Program Applicator Core Manual.

The BC certificate will be equivalent to the category of certification from another province and valid for five years from the date the out-of-province pesticide applicator certificate was issued (it will have the same expiry date as the out of province certificate).

Only the following categories are eligible for reciprocity from other provinces:

Forestry
Mosquito
Landscape
Structural
Industrial Vegetation Management and Noxious Weed
Aerial

Information on this program is available on the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change website here. Under the “Steps for writing an exam out-of-province” drop down, see Steps 1 to 5 for Reciprocity exam details.

You must have a valid five-year pesticide applicator certificate in a similar category from another Canadian province.

The required reading for reciprocity exams for Forestry, Industrial Vegetation and Aerial is specified on the Ministry website under the specific Pesticide Certificate and Training Categories.

Arrange to write the IPM Act and Regulation exam (reciprocity exam) by contacting Service BC.

The cost to write the exam is $90.

You must receive at least 75% on the IPM Act and Regulation exam to be issued a BC Industrial Vegetation & Noxious Weed Pesticide Applicator Certificate.

The exam is 23 questions and candidates have 1 hour to write the exam.

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS

Continuing Education Credit System for Recertification of Pesticide Applicators