The Apprenticeship in Animal Care will interest people who have a love of animals and do not mind getting their hands dirty! Working with animals can be hard, and requires real dedication, but is very rewarding.

The Apprenticeship programme leads to an NVQ in Animal Care and is gained through a combination of on-job and off-the-job training. The course covers a broad range of animal care skills, including daily routines such as cleaning and maintaining animal accomadation, feeding, animal health and well-being. The programme also covers key skills such as communication and working with others, as well as transferable skills like health and safety, information handling and dealing with clients and colleagues.

Training opportunities are available in a range of animal care establishments, such as boarding kennels and catteries, veterinary surgeries, zoos, animal rescue, pet stores. Once qualified there is a huge and varied range of employment opportunities, and there is always a demand for well-trained, devoted and qualified people in the animal care sector.