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Kennel workers care for dogs and cats in kennels and catteries.
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; flexibly
As a kennel or cattery worker, you will:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in kennels or at an animal welfare centre.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers and emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You could take a college course to get some of the skills and knowledge needed for this job.
Courses include:
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
You could apply for a place on an apprenticeship, such as:
These take between 1 and 2 years to complete, and combine work-based training with classroom study.
There are no set entry requirements but it may help you to get in if you have:
Volunteering is a useful way to get experience and shows employers that you are enthusiastic and interested in working with animals.
You can find out about opportunities for volunteering from:
You can also search online for animal care charities in your local area.
There are no set qualifications for applying directly to become a kennel worker. Some employers may ask you for GCSE grades at 9 to 4 (A* to C), including maths and English.
Experience of working with animals will be helpful.
You'll need to:
Some organisations may include a trial shift as part of their recruitment process.
You can find out more about careers in animal care from Lantra and the National Land Based College UK.
With experience, you could become a supervisor or kennel manager, or set up your own kennels or cattery.
With more training, you could move into other kinds of animal work, like dog training, RSPCA inspections or veterinary nursing.