Animal Care Apprenticeships at The College of Animal Welfare
If you love animals and are seeking a job that feels meaningful, animal care could be the beginning of a new and fulfilling career.
At The College of Animal Welfare, we offer animal care apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3, which give you the opportunity gain hands on experience working with animals, earn a wage and learn practical skills you can take into the industry.
Our animal care apprenticeships:
Level 2 Animal Care and Welfare Assistant Apprenticeship
Level 3 Animal Care and Welfare Manager Apprenticeship
- Available at Levels 2 and 3
- Part time or full time study options, with at least 6 hours per week studying off-the-job
- No college attendance required
- Work-based learning — start at any time
- You will need to be employed in a suitable animal care environment before enrolling to undertake an apprenticeship
- No course fees — fees will be paid by your employer
- No age limit (16+). Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers — they can be used at any age to upskill or change careers
- Tailor your learning to your job role and interests at Level 2 with a choice of additional study pathways
In order to undertake an animal care apprenticeship, you will need to be living and working in England in a suitable animal environment, earning at least the National Minimum Wage for Apprentices.
There are several ways you can find an apprenticeship vacancy:
- Search via the Find an Apprenticeship service. Most apprenticeship vacancies are displayed on the website. You can search by location or keywords to find your ideal vacancy. Once you find one that interests you, create an account to apply.
- Search for apprenticeship vacancies in your local newspapers, newsletters and online using websites such as Indeed.
- Attend free careers events run by your local school, library or job centre to discuss the apprenticeship vacancies available locally.
- Contact companies in your area directly and ask if they would consider taking on an apprentice.
✅ Experienced and supportive teaching staff
All of our animal care tutors and assessors have significant industry experience and knowledge, and all share a passion for pushing the profession forward. We want to ensure that you gain, not only an animal care qualification, but develop the skills and confidence to make a difference to the lives of the animals in your care and leave us inspired to go on to achieve your goals.
✅ Increase your job prospects
Animal care jobs can be highly competitive. By undertaking an animal care course you can give yourself an advantage by gaining a qualification that demonstrates your skills and knowledge to potential employers.
✅ Regulated and respected
Our animal care qualifications are Ofqual regulated and our college has been rated as a Good provider by Ofsted (July 2022). In addition, our Matrix accreditation underscores our commitment to delivering first quality information, advice and guidance to ensure that you choose the course that is right for you and your future ambitions.
An apprenticeship isn’t the only route to a career in animal care! Awarded by City & Guilds, our work-based diplomas in animal care are available at Levels 2 and 3 and are suitable for those not eligible for an apprenticeship.
We also offer the Level 2 Diploma in Animal Care Online Learning programme — an ideal way to gain an internationally recognised animal care qualification without attending college and with no work-based assessor visits required. If you’re looking for the flexibility to study alongside existing commitments, either for personal interest or because you dream of working with animals, this course could be for you. What’s more, our Loans2Learn scheme could help cover the cost of training.