A new ‘grooming craft’ qualification

For many years the Animal Care College has delivered a grooming theory course which, when completed, enables the student to take and pass the City & Guilds theory examination.  It was written by Diana North and Joanne Angus and has been updated to ensure that it remains current.  It is accredited by the National Open College Network so is a qualification in its own right.  It would be fair to say, however, that take up has been very limited for in practice, anyone can open a grooming room without any qualifications or previous experience.  It would also be fair to say that the current structure for training groomers is either complex and prescriptive or non-existent – except for a few training centres which provide sound and consistent practical training.  Such training does not necessarily lead to City & Guilds examinations (they are capable of so doing but for the private student it is an expensive process) but give a grounding in the basic techniques which ensure that dogs (and cats) are cared for and handled properly and the groomer does not attempt techniques which are outside their competence.

The Animal Care College is committed to the highest standards in grooming as it is in all aspects of pet care but in practice it is clear that if a groomer can de-matt, groom, bath, brush out, tidily trim and clip off this will probably account for over 90% of their business.  These are not techniques that take so very long to learn and as many groomers do not want or need the more sophisticated skills required for show trims and clips there are many hundreds of groomers working at this lower level up and down the country.

This does not mean that they should not be well trained, competent and have a thorough understanding of the basics of their craft and to this end the Animal Care College has created a Grooming Craft Qualification (GCQ) which will comprise its Grooming (theory) course combined with short courses already provided by some of the UK’s grooming schools which can be accredited by the Animal Care College .  The standard is not intended to be the equivalent of any currently available City & Guilds/Pet Care Trust qualifications but to run alongside them.  Neither should it be seen as replacing C & G/PCT awards – indeed, the College hopes that it’s qualification will be seen as a stepping-stone to the development of further skills within the industry and would encourage those attaining their GCQ to join the Pet Care Trust to improve both their status and their knowledge. 

The College has inviting three ‘premier’ grooming schools to take part in this initiative, one in the south of England, one in London and one in the north of England.  All have reputations for delivering professional grooming skills to the highest standards but also provide foundation courses for groomers too.  If the scheme is successful other centres may wish to join the scheme and would be welcomed so long as they could fulfil the criteria required by the Animal Care College’s accreditation process.

Clearly every grooming training centre will have their own course, work practices and techniques but it is the results that count so there is no demand on any centre to work in a specific way.  However, experience indicates that 140 hours practical training is probably required to achieve the basic craft skills described above plus the Animal Care College’s Grooming (Theory) course for the qualification.

The qualification comprises:

Practical

Introduction

Grooming out; preparation for bathing; drying; breeds; coat types: achieving a well-prepared dog; tools; equipment; shampoos, conditioners and associated products and accessories; handling dogs  (35 hours)

Bathing and care (1)

Bathing; drying; care of ears and nail; the ‘well’ dog and possible health problems; grooming room/dog owner interface; handling and using clippers and scissors (35 hours)

Bathing and care (2)

Completing of whole bathing and grooming process and preparation for trimming work; more on breeds and the special techniques and shapes expected by owners (35 hours)

Grooming, trimming and clipping off

Coat removal; trimming; the completion of the process from start to finish; taking decisions at each stage; assessment of problems likely to arise; limits of skill; customer expectations (35 hours)

Theory

As the Animal Care College Level 3 Grooming (Theory) course described above

Further details from:

Animal Care College

www.animalcarecollege,co.uk

Look North Grooming and Training Centre

http://www.looknorth.net

Canine Design Academy of Grooming

www.caninedesign .co.uk

Absolutely Animals Grooming Centre

www.absolutelyanimals.biz