You could do an animal trainer higher apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Dog handlers work with specially trained dogs to help detect and prevent crime, find lost or missing people and protect property.
£16,000 Starter
to£26,000 Experienced
38 to 40 a week
evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts
You can get into this job through:
You could do an animal trainer higher apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You can apply to be a dog handler if you're already working in an organisation like the police, British army or Royal Air Force.
See the appropriate job profiles for more information on career paths in the police or armed services.
You could get voluntary experience with the National Search and Rescue Dog Association before applying to be a dog handler.
You can apply to work with a private security firm as a dog handler. You'll need a Security Industry Authority licence to do this.
You'll have an advantage when you apply for jobs if you've got experience of working with dogs.
You can find out more about becoming a dog handler from the College of Animal Welfare.
You'll need:
You'll need to:
Depending on the service you work for, you could:
You could work in kennels.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers and physically demanding.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Promotion opportunities will depend on the service or organisation that you work for. In the police and armed forces, you may have to move out of dog handling to get promoted to the higher ranks.
In security, you could go on to be head of canine services, where you direct teams of dog handlers.
You might also become a trainer, working with organisations like search and rescue, to help train dogs and their handlers.
We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a dog handler right now.
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