Carry out common husbandry and technical tasks for livestock.
Apprentices learn to carry out clinical and husbandry tasks on behalf of a veterinary practice, working on client farms and smallholdings. This includes vaccinations, mobility assessments, foot trimming, disbudding, body condition scoring, and sample collection. They work within vet-led protocols, administer medicines by injection, oral bolus, and topical application, and carry out environmental assessments to identify factors affecting herd health. Data collection, report writing, biosecurity management, and lone-working risk assessment are all core to the role.
Most working time is spent on farm rather than in practice. An apprentice will travel between client sites, carrying out scheduled health checks, collecting samples for parasite or disease analysis, and delivering treatments under agreed protocols. They record clinical data and use it to support health plan reviews with the supervising vet. They liaise directly with farmers, enterprise managers, and other agricultural professionals such as nutritionists, and may support veterinary or agricultural students visiting site. Equipment maintenance and biosecurity compliance are routine responsibilities.
Completion typically leads to roles such as vet technician, approved tuberculin tester, mobility scorer and foot trimmer specialist, or embryo transfer technician. With experience, progression into vet technician management is a recognised pathway. Employers are predominantly farm animal veterinary practices, ranging from small independent practices to large multi-site operations serving commercial livestock producers. The role sits within a regulated paraprofessional structure, and continuing professional development is expected to maintain technical standing within the practice.
Sorted by achievement rate.
No training providers currently listed for this standard.
Qualified technicians typically step into dedicated field roles within large animal practices, operating independently across farm and smallholding clients. Common job titles include Vet Technician, Vet Tech Paraprofessional, Vet Tech Mobility Scorer and Foot Trimmer, Vet Tech Approved Tuberculin Tester (ATT), and Embryo Transfer Technician. Some move directly into a Certification Support Officer (CSO) role, handling the regulatory documentation that accompanies livestock health testing and movement.
Within three to five years, experienced technicians often take on a broader caseload with greater clinical complexity, or specialise in areas such as embryo transfer, TB testing, or reproductive health programmes. A Vet Technician Manager role is a recognised step for those with an interest in operational leadership, overseeing scheduling, biosecurity protocols, and junior staff or students. The deep specialist track tends to run alongside continued CPD, with some technicians becoming recognised leads within specific disease control or herd health programmes delivered in partnership with AHDB or other advisory bodies.
Employers are almost exclusively private livestock veterinary practices, ranging from small independent rural practices to large multi-site commercial operations. The work is concentrated in areas with high livestock density: dairy, beef, sheep, and pig farming regions across England, Wales, and Scotland. Clients are typically commercial farmers, enterprise managers, and smallholders. This is a private-sector occupation with close links to regulated agricultural and animal health frameworks, including government TB eradication programmes.
Throughout the programme, the apprentice works in a real livestock veterinary setting, building competence across the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the role. This includes practical fieldwork on client premises, data management, administration of treatments under vet-led protocols, and environmental and livestock assessments. Before final assessment, the apprentice must pass a readiness check, commonly called the gateway, confirming they are prepared to demonstrate full occupational competence. The final assessment then confirms whether the apprentice can perform the role to the required standard. Assessment models for many standards are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification.
Apprentices should treat every farm visit, client interaction, and data collection task as an opportunity to gather workplace evidence. Building a record of real activities throughout the programme, rather than trying to compile evidence at the end, makes the gateway process more straightforward. Close, regular communication with both the supervising vet and the training provider is important, particularly around readiness for final assessment. Keeping accurate records of procedures carried out, protocols followed, and any professional development undertaken will support that process considerably.
Providers with strong achievement rates above 75% on their FATP profile are a meaningful signal for this standard, where the practical demands of working on commercial farms and smallholdings cause some learners to drop out. Look for providers who can demonstrate working relationships with large animal veterinary practices, not just agricultural colleges teaching theory. Evidence that off-the-job training includes hands-on work with livestock, real biosecurity protocols, and exposure to the data recording and health plan systems used in practice matters here. High employer satisfaction scores and reviews that mention farm-based placements carry more weight than generic praise.
Be cautious if a provider cannot explain how learners gain practical experience in tasks such as mobility scoring, disbudding, or sample collection under supervision, as classroom delivery alone will not prepare someone for lone working on a client's farm. Providers with high apprentice volumes but a declining or opaque achievement rate deserve scrutiny. Vague answers about how the provider coordinates with supervising vets, or no clear relationship with a livestock veterinary practice, suggest the employer will carry most of the burden. Check whether the provider covers your region, given the rural geography of most placements.
There are no nationally mandated entry qualifications set out in the standard, but employers typically look for a genuine interest in livestock health and welfare, and some practical experience on farms or in a veterinary or agricultural setting is usually an advantage. Apprentices must be employed by a veterinary practice that works with large animal livestock. English and maths requirements apply; check the current apprenticeship specification on gov.uk for details.
The typical duration is 24 months, though individual timelines vary depending on prior experience and employer circumstances. Apprentices are employed throughout and continue working in the practice while studying. A portion of contracted hours must be spent on off-the-job training, but the exact percentage is subject to ongoing revision under Skills England reforms. Check gov.uk for the current specification before planning a programme.
Before taking the end-point assessment, the apprentice must pass through gateway, a checkpoint where the employer and training provider confirm the apprentice has met all required knowledge, skills, and behaviours. Assessment models for many standards are being updated, so check gov.uk for the current end-point assessment plan for standard ST0627. The apprentice must demonstrate occupational competence across the full range of vet tech duties, from data collection and livestock assessment to safe medicine administration and client communication.
The funding band for this standard is £13,000, which is the maximum government contribution towards training and assessment costs. Large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy use their levy account to fund it. Smaller employers co-invest, typically paying 5% of the training cost while the government covers the rest. Employers with fewer than 50 staff taking on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 pay nothing. Speak to a training provider or the Education and Skills Funding Agency for current co-investment rates.
On a typical day, a vet tech visits farms and smallholdings on behalf of the practice, carrying out tasks such as vaccinations, mobility assessments, foot trimming, disbudding, body condition scoring, and sample collection. They conduct environmental assessments of housing, ventilation, and walkways, record health data, and report findings to the supervising vet. All treatments follow vet-approved protocols. The role involves regular direct contact with farmers and enterprise managers, lone working on client premises, and accurate documentation for medicine and regulatory records.
Completers can move into specialist roles such as approved tuberculin tester, embryo transfer technician, mobility scorer, or foot trimmer, often gaining specific certifications alongside their day-to-day work. Some progress to vet tech managerial positions within a practice. Others use the level 5 qualification as a stepping stone towards further study in veterinary nursing, animal science, or related disciplines. Continuing professional development is expected in the profession, and many practitioners build a portfolio of additional technical qualifications over their careers.
Tell us a bit about your team and we'll send a shortlist.
Tell us your requirements and we'll match you with the right training providers.
Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 627.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.