Kennel worker to animal care attendant
A kennel worker already meets 44% of what the animal care attendant role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.7/ 100
1 How much of what an animal care attendant is expected to do is already part of a kennel worker’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 15 of its required skills as things a kennel worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on animal welfare
- anatomy of animals
- animal behaviour
- animal nutrition
- animal welfare legislation
- assess animal behaviour
What stands in the way is 13 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 17 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 a kennel worker background worth leading with.
- already held animal training agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held groom animals handling and moving
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals handling and moving
- already held implement exercise activities for animals handling and moving
- already held animal nutrition agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held assist in transportation of animals handling and moving
All 17 carried skills, including the 15 the animal care attendant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 10 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 apply animal hygiene practices required
- still to learn breed reptiles required
- still to learn manage animal welfare required
- still to learn provide animal training required
- still to learn provide first aid to animals required
- still to learn provide nutrition to animals 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
- optional, not held understand the animal's situation optional
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn environmental enrichment for animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
- optional, not held animal production science optional
- still to learn manage animal biosecurity required
- optional, not held calculate rates per hours optional
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- optional, not held apply numeracy skills optional
- still to learn apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- optional, not held treat animals ethically optional
- optional, not held deal with challenging people optional
- still to learn safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held interview animal owners on animals' conditions optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
4 further areas 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 apply animal hygiene practices practise this
- 02 apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting practise this
- 03 biosecurity related to animals study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held advise on animal welfare skill
- already held anatomy of animals knowledge
- already held animal behaviour knowledge
- already held animal nutrition knowledge
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held assess animal behaviour skill
- already held assist in transportation of animals skill
- already held control animal movement skill
- 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 monitor the welfare of animals skill
- already held physiology of animals knowledge
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals skill
- already held animal training knowledge
- already held assess animal's condition skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare optional
- optional, not held microchip scanners optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
20 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 production science optional
- optional, not held calculate rates per hours optional
- optional, not held care for juvenile animals optional
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector optional
- optional, not held handle veterinary patients optional
- optional, not held interview animal owners on animals' conditions optional
- optional, not held make decisions regarding the animal's welfare optional
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- optional, not held treat animals ethically optional
- optional, not held understand the animal's situation optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
- optional, not held apply numeracy skills 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
18 held skills the animal care attendant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise customers on appropriate pet care skill
- not needed by the target role bathe dogs skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role create animal records skill
- not needed by the target role feed pets skill
- not needed by the target role follow verbal instructions skill
- not needed by the target role follow written instructions skill
- not needed by the target role instruct on animal care skill
- not needed by the target role maintain customer service skill
- not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain professional administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain welfare of animals during transportation skill
- not needed by the target role protect health and safety when handling animals skill
- not needed by the target role provide dog walking services skill
- not needed by the target role stay alert skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role work in shifts skill
- not needed by the target role work with veterinarians skill
8 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 biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn environmental enrichment for animals required
- still to learn safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
- optional, not held microchip scanners optional
- optional, not held animal production science optional
- optional, not held animal species optional
Common questions about this move
Can a kennel worker become an animal care attendant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A kennel worker already covers 44% of what an animal care attendant is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 15 of which the animal care attendant role treats as required.
What skills does a kennel worker need to become an animal care attendant?
13 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is apply animal hygiene practices.
How hard is the move from kennel worker to animal care attendant?
Its learning distance is 65.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.