Animal care worker

Entry Requirements:

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• volunteering
• working towards this role

Entry requirements:

College

You could take a college course in animal care, for example:

• Level 1 Certificate in Skills for Working in Animal Care Industries
• Level 2 Diploma in Animal Care
• T Level in Animal Care and Management
• Level 3 Award in Small Animal Care and Management

Entry requirements:

• 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply for a place on an apprenticeship, such as:

• Animal Care and Welfare Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
• Animal Care and Welfare Manager Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These can take up to 1 year and 6 months to complete.

Entry requirements:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Volunteering

It'll help to have some experience of working with animals before you start looking for a job.

Volunteering with animal rescue, animal sanctuaries or conservation charities can sometimes lead to paid work. You may need to do jobs like fundraising or administration first, as a way to get in.

You can search for volunteering opportunities on sites like:

• The National Council for Voluntary Organisations
• Do IT

Some of the bigger national animal charities include:

• Blue Cross
• RSPCA
• PDSA
• Cats Protection

You may be able to find smaller animal charities in your area by searching on the internet.

Required Skills:

Digital skills : to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Skills:

• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be flexible and open to change
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• customer service skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• thinking and reasoning skills
• active listening skills
• the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
• the ability to work well with your hands
• a desire to help people
• the ability to read English
• concentration skills
• the ability to use your judgement and make decisions
• knowledge of English language
• knowledge of biology
• physical fitness and endurance
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses

What you'll do:

Animal care workers look after animals in kennels, rescue centres and sanctuaries.

You could work with domestic or wild animals to:

• check animals daily and monitor their health
• clean out kennels, enclosures, cages or stables
• prepare food and help out at feeding times
• clean and groom animals
• look after sick or distressed animals
• update records and deal with questions from colleagues or the public
• make sure animals are exercised regularly

Location : You could work at an animal welfare centre, at a wildlife park or in kennels.
Environment : Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time, physically demanding and dirty.

Salary:

Starter : £14,000
Experienced : £24,000

These figures are a guide

Working hours:

38 - 40 hours a week

Working Pattern is evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts

Career Path:

With experience, you could become a supervisor or manager.

You could become self-employed and run your own business like dog walking, puppy training or pet sitting. You may be able to open your own kennels or cattery or set up an animal rescue charity.

You could also use your experience to move into other animal care careers, like veterinary nursing, or find work in a conservation or wildlife park. There may also be opportunities to go into animal training, for example as an assistance dog instructor.