Front row (left to right): Sue Kemp (Bedford), Melanie Winters-Holmes (Oxford), Janet Nunn (CE Pet Care Trust), Louisa Tandy (Kent), Suzanne O’ Sullivan (Dublin) Back row: Jenny Hale (Dublin), Karina Kerrigan (Dublin), Julie Harris (Sussex), Sam Maynard (Kent), Nikki Mills (Sussex), Peter Ensell (Warwickshire)

An initiative by the Pet Care Trust, the national charity that promotes the benefits of responsible pet ownership, pet care education and training, has led to dog grooming joining the prestigious portfolio of City & Guilds licentiateships.

The first ten to achieve this accolade were among an array of 90 licentiates from many trades and professions and from overseas that filled the Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London for this glamorous occasion.

The new Licentiateship raises the status of dog grooming, an industry experiencing rapid growth. More dog owners want their dogs to be professionally groomed and the number of salons in the UK is fast rising towards 3000.

The Pet Care Trust has responded by developing this new City and Guilds Level 4 qualification to extend the career path in grooming.

‘The awards ceremony was a memorable occasion and a proud moment for all the recipients and the trust. Their achievement takes dog grooming to a new level. I’m sure the course will grow and it will help to enhance the reputation of the profession’, said Janet Nunn, Chief Executive of the Pet Care Trust.

Meriel France, the Trust’s Education and Training Manager, added: “The new qualification provides a great opportunity for dog groomers to climb the career ladder to gain recognition for vocational achievement. Grooming is really becoming a booming business.”

All the recipients had to have five years vocational experience, a teaching equivalent qualification and undergo a programme of theory and practical exam.