Paving the way for women in pest management
Being named the inaugural winner of the 2019 Professional Women in Australian Pest Management (PWAPM) Excellence Award sponsored by BASF, is an impressive title, and one Kylee Enwright from CPR Pest Management Services is no doubt doing justice.
Kylee and her husband Paul own their business which services both residential and commercial customers from Scone to Newcastle in New South Wales. Throughout her career to date, she has remained committed to developing her skills and knowledge.
“I started out doing a little bit of everything, mainly in the office and then I studied for my certificate III so I could be really across the details when I spoke with customers. Our business kept growing, and from there we were able to employ an administration person for the office so I could concentrate on sales and networking, and also be available to cover high demand periods, by filling in as technician in the field which I find really rewarding,” says Kylee.
“To me, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, I like to encourage our team to push outside the box and understand how to really use their strengths. At the same time the team are motivating me to always push the boundaries, which I feel in some ways has led to me achieving this award,” she adds.
Through the platform the award will provide, Kylee is keen to return the favour and hopes to inspire women to join the Pest Management Industry.
“I would definitely encourage women to join the industry, we have so many avenues of opportunity. A lot of the work is focused on problem solving and helping people, whether that’s in customer service roles, through to working on the business or working in the field. We’re seeing more women in the industry and hope we get to a point where we achieve equal representation,” Kylee says.
BASF is committed to supporting the industry achieve greater diversity and sponsoring the PWAPM award is one way to help encourage more women to pursue opportunities within the industry.
“We have some really impressive women within our industry and this award gives us the opportunity to bring their achievements to the forefront, and also inspire more women to follow in their footsteps,” said David Elmouttie, Business Manager at BASF.
Nicky Turner who founded the PWAPM said the group was set up to help bring women together.
“PWAPM is giving women a voice in the industry, we’re not about segregating ourselves from the men – but providing an educational, support group for women to network and share encouragement. It has been proven that women who support other women are more successful in business,” she says.