Characteristics of training for veterinary assistants

Training for veterinary assistants differs from country to country in the study. The information gathered in our study is collated in the following table, showing a description of the training where this exists, the level of qualification, the name of the training organisation and the length of study.

Country	DK	ES	FI	FR	HU	PT	RO	SI	SK	UK
Description of training	Professional training	Professional training organised in the private sector	Professional training organised in the private sector	Professional qualifying training	None	Further education professional training	Professional training	Professional training	Professional training	Professional training (NVQ - National Vocational Qualification)
Initial training	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Professional retraining	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Sandwich training	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Type of qualification	Nationally recognised	Recognised only in the private sector	Nationally recognised	Nationally recognised		Nationally recognised	Nationally recognised	Nationally recognised	Nationally recognised	Nationally recognised
Training body	CEU Kolding	AVEPA (Asociacion de Veterinarios Especialistas en Animales de Compane)	School of Amiedu & school of Pemo	GIPSA (Groupement d'Intérêt Public de Santé Animal) ex CNFA (Centre National de Formation des Apprentis)		Instituto Politéchnico de Elvas & Instituto Politéchnico de Viseu	Agricultural School of Group & Palas de Constanta & Prejmer-Brasov	Srednja agnozivilska sola	Institute of Postgraduate Education of VS	Telford College & Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Type of training	State	Private sector	Private sector	State		State	State	State	State	State
Total length of training	3 years and 10 weeks	5 years	4 years	2 years		3 years	4 years	4 years	4 years	2.5 years
% Length of practical training	69	40	83	75		50	47	31	50	60
% Length of theoretical training	31	60	27	25		50	53	69	50	40

The overall table shows that training is of a professional nature in all the countries studied. Only Portugal has recognised further education professional training, all the other countries having professional training of secondary level.

The conditions of training (initial, professional retraining, sandwich training) vary from country to country. Only the United Kingdom offers the three possibilities and Hungary none at all.

In all the countries where training exists, it is nationally recognised except in Spain, where it is recognised only in the private sector. This is due to the fact that in Spain training of veterinary assistants is done by a private institution. In the other countries (except Finland), training bodies are in the public sector.

What is particularly striking about this study of training for veterinary assistants is the total length of training, which varies between 2 years (in France) and almost 5 years in Spain. In general, the average length of training is 3 years in the countries studied.

The break-down between practical work and theoretical training also varies greatly from country to country. Some countries, like France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Finland, favour practical teaching, others preferring theoretical teaching (Slovenia).

In conclusion, the study showed a wide variation in veterinary nursing training particularly with respect to the length of study.