November was an exciting time for the veterinary profession, with the London Vet Show and the Vets Now ECC congress both taking place in this month. But what is becoming of our beloved profession in these fragile times? It appears every practice is short staffed and yet these elusive new vets, nurses and support staff are nowhere to be found. We are all aware of the issues that can be experienced in these roles- the long days; the challenging client interactions; the out of hours work- but it seems that the wonderful parts of the job are being forgotten; the variety; the fantastic team spirit, the lovely clients, the even lovelier animals and the difference we can make to their lives. So what is happening with employment in the veterinary profession and is anything being done to make things better?
The RCVS have recently published the ‘Workforce Action Plan’ which contains the specifics of current trends in veterinary employment. In essence, there remains an unsustainably high number of vets and nurses leaving the profession each year. There are many reasons cited for this, including: reduced overseas registrants since the UK left the EU; lack of flexible work hours; poor pay and benefits; and high stress with low support. This highlights that we need to work on retention to keep vets and nurses happy in jobs they are in, but also on recruitment, because finding the right job within the profession is absolutely essential.
So what is being done currently to help with recruitment, retention and return of vets and vet nurses?
-At the London Vet Show, the ‘lesson in a box’ plan was unveiled as a way of inspiring secondary school aged pupils to consider a career within the veterinary sector. Not only does this help pupils prepare themselves for their future career, the project also aims to help school staff support pupils who choose to pursue these careers.
-More Vet Schools! There are now 11 Universities offering a veterinary science degree. More vet students=more vets.
-Increased responsibility and diversity for Veterinary nurses. Nurses who feel more fulfilled will hopefully remain in the profession for longer.
-The ‘action plan’ details ways that the RCVS plan to try and improve job satisfaction by improving support and flexibility. This will hopefully aid retention of our vets and nurses.
-Veterinary recruitment agencies are helping by matching candidates with the best job for them. Sometimes candidates are considering leaving the profession whereas actually they just need a job that is a more suitable fit for them and their lifestyle. Recruiters are especially useful in these tricky times as there are simply so many veterinary roles available (788 practice roles available at time of writing, on the VetRecord website!), it can be overwhelming for candidates who are job hunting alone. Using a recruiter can streamline and speed up this process, enabling the ideal job to be found much more efficiently.
To conclude, the veterinary sector is certainly still in a very fragile position. However, significant advances are being made in promoting these wonderful job roles, and making them more sustainable for people currently working in them. The effect of these changes will take time to be seen, but hopefully they will have a positive impact and will help save this struggling profession.
There is always a lot to consider when your weighing up your next job move, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, why not reach out to us and see how we can support you with your job search.
We are ready to help on 01823 429566.