Kennel worker to guide dog instructor
A kennel worker already meets 44% of what the guide dog instructor role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.5/ 100
1 How much of what a guide dog instructor 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 guide dog instructor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A guide dog instructor role treats 7 of its required skills as things a kennel worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise customers on appropriate pet care
- animal welfare legislation
- communicate with customers
- control animal movement
- create animal records
- implement exercise activities for animals
What stands in the way is 9 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A guide dog instructor 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 instruct on animal care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held protect health and safety when handling animals assisting and caring
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals handling and moving
- already held work with veterinarians handling and moving
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create animal records information skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 7 the guide dog instructor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 evaluate dogs required
- still to learn provide animal training required
- still to learn train animals and individuals to work together required
- optional, not held design training programmes for animals optional
- optional, not held provide first aid to animals optional
- optional, not held provide nutrition to animals optional
- still to learn assist social service users with physical disabilities required
- still to learn deal with challenging people required
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- still to learn assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together required
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held tolerate stress optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- still to learn guide dog training methods required
- optional, not held animal welfare optional
- still to learn visual disability required
- optional, not held assistive instruments optional
- still to learn dog behaviour required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a guide dog instructor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 guide dog training methods study this
- 02 assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together practise this
- 03 evaluate dogs 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held advise customers on appropriate pet care skill
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held control animal movement skill
- already held create animal records skill
- already held implement exercise activities for animals skill
- already held protect health and safety when handling animals skill
- already held anatomy of animals knowledge
- already held assist in transportation of animals skill
- already held instruct on animal care skill
- already held maintain animal accommodation hygienic skill
- already held maintain professional administration skill
- already held physiology of animals knowledge
- already held provide an enriching environment for animals skill
- already held stay alert skill
- already held work with veterinarians skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held advise on animal purchase optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on animal purchase optional
- optional, not held design training programmes for animals optional
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held provide first aid to animals optional
- optional, not held provide nutrition to animals optional
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- optional, not held tolerate stress optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held animal welfare optional
- optional, not held assistive instruments optional
19 held skills the guide dog instructor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on animal welfare skill
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal nutrition knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal training knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess animal behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role assess animal's condition skill
- not needed by the target role bathe dogs 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 groom animals skill
- not needed by the target role handle veterinary emergencies 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 welfare of animals during transportation skill
- not needed by the target role monitor the welfare of animals skill
- not needed by the target role provide dog walking services skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role work in shifts skill
5 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 guide dog training methods required
- still to learn dog behaviour required
- still to learn visual disability required
- optional, not held animal welfare optional
- optional, not held assistive instruments optional
Common questions about this move
Can a kennel worker become a guide dog instructor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A kennel worker already covers 44% of what a guide dog instructor is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 7 of which the guide dog instructor role treats as required.
What skills does a kennel worker need to become a guide dog instructor?
9 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is guide dog training methods.
How hard is the move from kennel worker to guide dog instructor?
Its learning distance is 58.5 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.