Animal handler to animal care attendant
An animal handler already meets 77% of what the animal care attendant role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.9/ 100
1 How much of what an animal care attendant is expected to do is already part of an animal handler’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the animal care attendant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An animal care attendant role treats 24 of its required skills as things an animal handler already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- anatomy of animals
- animal behaviour
- animal welfare
- animal welfare legislation
- apply animal hygiene practices
- apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animal care attendant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animal handler background worth leading with.
- already held groom animals handling and moving
- already held provide animal training handling and moving
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals handling and moving
- already held calculate rates per hours information skills
- already held interview animal owners on animals' conditions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science information skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 24 the animal care attendant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assist in transportation of animals required
- still to learn breed reptiles required
- optional, not held establish aquarium optional
- optional, not held locate microchip in animals optional
- optional, not held care for juvenile animals optional
- optional, not held handle veterinary patients optional
- still to learn advise on animal welfare required
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- still to learn animal nutrition required
- optional, not held animal training optional
- optional, not held deal with challenging people optional
- optional, not held microchip scanners optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an animal care attendant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on animal welfare practise this
- 02 assist in transportation of animals practise this
- 03 breed reptiles practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 skills that carry over
- already held anatomy of animals knowledge
- already held animal behaviour knowledge
- already held animal welfare knowledge
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held apply animal hygiene practices skill
- already held apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting skill
- already held assess animal behaviour skill
- already held biosecurity related to animals knowledge
- already held control animal movement skill
- already held environmental enrichment for animals knowledge
- already held groom animals skill
- already held handle veterinary emergencies skill
- already held implement exercise activities for animals skill
- already held maintain animal accommodation hygienic skill
- already held manage animal biosecurity skill
- already held manage animal welfare skill
- already held monitor the welfare of animals skill
- already held physiology of animals knowledge
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals skill
- already held provide animal training skill
- already held provide first aid to animals skill
- already held provide nutrition to animals skill
- already held safe work practices in a veterinary setting knowledge
- already held signs of animal illness knowledge
- already held animal production science knowledge
- already held apply numeracy skills skill
- already held assess animal's condition skill
- already held calculate rates per hours skill
- already held cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector skill
- already held interview animal owners on animals' conditions skill
- already held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare skill
- already held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science skill
- already held treat animals ethically skill
- already held understand the animal's situation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held establish aquarium optional
- optional, not held locate microchip in animals optional
- optional, not held microchip scanners optional
- optional, not held animal training optional
- optional, not held care for juvenile animals optional
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held handle veterinary patients optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held deal with challenging people optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
4 held skills the animal care attendant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role handle animals for semen collection skill
- not needed by the target role handle working animals skill
- not needed by the target role load animals for transportation skill
- not needed by the target role maintain welfare of animals during transportation skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn animal nutrition required
- optional, not held microchip scanners optional
- optional, not held animal training optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
Common questions about this move
Can an animal handler become an animal care attendant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An animal handler already covers 77% of what an animal care attendant is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 24 of which the animal care attendant role treats as required.
What skills does an animal handler need to become an animal care attendant?
4 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is advise on animal welfare.
How hard is the move from animal handler to animal care attendant?
Its learning distance is 32.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.