Pet shop assistants serve customers and look after animals in pet shops.

Salary Range: £14,500 to £17,500

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• volunteering
• applying directly
• a course run by a specialist training provider

You could do a qualification to improve your career prospects and show employers that you’re committed to learning more about working with animals. Relevant courses include:

• Level 2 Diploma in Animal Care
• Level 3 Diploma in Animal Management

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

You can get into this job through an animal care and welfare assistant intermediate apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

More information

• equivalent entry requirements
• guide to apprenticeships

Volunteering and experience

Volunteering is a great way to get experience of working with animals and could lead to paid work. You could look for opportunities with the:

• RSPCA
• Dogs Trust
• Cats Protection

Direct application

You may not need any formal qualifications to apply to work in a pet shop. It’ll help if you’ve got experience of working with animals or a background in retail customer service.

Other routes

You may be able to study with specialist animal welfare college or the Pet Industry Federation for a qualification in animal care.

Course are offered online, in the workplace and at college.

Skills and knowledge

You’ll need:

• customer service skills
• the ability to work well with others
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• sensitivity and understanding
• the ability to use your initiative
• excellent verbal communication skills
• the ability to sell products and services
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day duties may include:

• giving food and water to the animals
• cleaning out cages
• grooming and exercising animals
• advising customers
• selling pet care products
• maintaining stock levels
• dealing with deliveries
• keeping the store clean and tidy
• checking the water temperature and chemical balance in fish tanks
• checking all animals regularly for signs of disease

Working environment

You could work at a store.

With experience, you could progress to supervisor or manager.

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