CGC Oakgrove Ebook 3.0

Animal Care

Sector Outlook Although working with animals remains fiercely competitive, job oppor tunities throughout the United Kingdom are generally on the increase with par ticular growth in veterinary care. Whether you want to work in a veterinary practice, charity animal shelter, equine centre, zoo, or even set up your own business as a dog walker the oppor tunities are available if you are prepared to look for them. As always, relevant experience and accredited courses will improve your chances of getting the job you want whether it’s hands-on or an office based suppor t role. Useful websites such as www.animal-job.co.uk and www.animaljobsdirect.com offer a good star ting point but generic job search websites will also help you to hunt down the vacancy that is right for you. Popular career areas for young people include veterinary roles, animal care and conservation work. To get your foot in the door you should first gain experience and demonstrate commitment through volunteering. You could consider contacting organisations such as OneKind, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) about possible volunteering oppor tunities. A willingness to work at weekends or during the evenings will also bring more job oppor tunities your way, especially for roles in animal rescue. Typically, there is a shor tage of male workers in the animal care sector, notably in veterinary nursing, and an increase in animal welfare is likely to lead to more job oppor tunities for pet sitters, dog walkers, and animal behaviour trainers. In contrast there is likely to be fewer vacancies in zoos and animal parks even though such employers tend to retain large numbers of staff. Similarly, with more people shopping online and the rise of pet superstores, there is likely to be fewer job vacancies with small independent pet shops. The vet sector is growing at 9% year and has a growing need for vets and vet nurses as well as suppor t staff as technology, care practices and expectations of pet owners continues to rise.