Completed your veterinary degree and looking to start a career in public health?
E&J’s Official Veterinarian programme trains veterinary graduates in all skills required to become an Official Veterinarian, providing on-the-job experience for those wishing to pursue a career in Veterinary Public Health.
The programme is governed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and qualifies vets to work within the Public Health sector. It is essential to becoming a fully qualified OV. We work closely with the FSA who do regular audits on the training programme as part of their regulation of the food production/public health industry.
The 12-month programme requires:
- 200 hours of practical training, supervised by an Official Veterinarian
- A completed ‘Learning Log and Portfolio of Experience’ detailing this training
- A competence assessment (exam) for the practical experience
During the training period, all Novice Official Veterinarians (NOVs) will be paired with a Supervisory Official Veterinarian (SOV) for support and will gain practical experience across all tasks necessary for the role.
Trainees will acquire all the knowledge they need to become a fully-trained Official Veterinarian, including:
- National and Community legislation on veterinary public health, food safety, animal health, animal welfare and pharmaceutical substances
- Animal welfare at the level of production, transport and slaughter
- Promotion and use of food hygiene, food related safety (good hygiene practices); Principles, concepts and methods of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and quality management; and Principles of training of personnel working in the production chain
- Principles, concepts and methods of HACCP, use of HACCP-based principles throughout the food production food chain and prevention and control of food-borne hazards related to human health
- Conducting the auditing and regulatory assessment of food safety management systems
- Monitoring and surveillance systems
- Relevant aspects concerning TSEs
- Environmental issues related to food production (including waste management)
- Principles, concepts and methods of risk-analysis
- Information and communication technology as related to veterinary public health
The NOV programme is a requirement of employment at E&J. Once the 12-month Novice period is completed you can enjoy the additional benefits of:
- A substantial lift in salary
- A recognised qualification throughout the Public Health Industry
- Opportunity to progress/diversify within the company
We asked one of our recent training programme graduates, Edip Erginoglu, to share his thoughts on the programme:
How did the programme help prepare you for your career as an Official Veterinarian?
The programme helped me significantly as it was all related to day-to-day work of an OV and prepared me for a range of potential scenarios. This is really beneficial for veterinarians as it allows you to develop faster and prepares you for a future in veterinary public health.
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
The legislations and process of serving letters/notices.
What was the most challenging part of the programme?
The final exam was definitely the most challenging part. However, the support I received from my Area Manager, Official Veterinarian Team Leader and Supervisory Official Veterinarian helped me to prepare for this.
What would you say to graduates wanting to embark on a career as an OV?
A career as an OV is incredibly fulfilling, and provides you with a good salary and benefits, as well as excellent opportunities for career development. It’s a crucial role which sees you ensuring food safety and animal welfare standards are adhered to.
Interested in a career as an Official Veterinarian? Head to our Join the Team page to find out more.
