Bronya Worrall Lives The Dream On Animal-azing Apprenticeship

Bronya holds one of the store’s corn snakes. With a long-standing passion for spiders, snakes and lizards, working in Birmingham’s only reptile-specialist store is the dream Apprenticeship for Solihull College student Bronya Worrall. Having worked at Birmingham Reptiles and Pets on a voluntary basis for several months, Bronya’s line manager and owner of the store, Monica Williams, decided it would be the ideal next step to recruit Bronya onto the Animal Care Apprenticeship with Solihull College. Located in Erdington, Monica has been running Birmingham Reptiles and Pets for the last 15 years, and prides the company on its first-class, invaluable advice given to customers. The shop houses an extensive range of reptiles including bearded dragons, chameleons, tarantulas, corn snakes and pythons, as well as hamsters, mice, rats and birds. Learning about the various types of species and developing her knowledge has been a key part of Bronya’s Apprenticeship, as well as the specific cleaning and feeding routines that have to be carried out every day of the year. 23-year-old Bronya, who currently has five tarantulas, eight snakes and two chickens of her own, comments: “I love working at Birmingham Reptiles and Pets and I have learnt so much since I started my Apprenticeship. We spend a lot of time dealing with customers explaining how they should care for their pets, including the feeding process and the best heating system to use, and the knowledge I have gained is fantastic. Working in the shop has also built up my confidence and skills in other areas, including stock control, supervising work experience students, and dealing with payments from customers.” Whilst on the Animal Care Apprenticeship with Solihull College, learners are required to complete nine core modules, which include handling and moving animals, giving basic treatments and setting up animal accommodation, amongst others. Each apprentice will then choose a pathway to take, which comprise a range of units or topics relevant to their work. The pathways include: animal care and welfare, dog grooming, pet care and retail, dog training, zoos and wildlife. Monica comments: “We are delighted to have Bronya as part of our team and training her to have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide an excellent level of service to customers. The Apprenticeship is perfect as it allows her to get real hands-on experience in the workplace, as well as learning the theoretical aspects of caring for animals through her studies.” On completion of the Apprenticeship learners will have a wide range of opportunities open to them, including progression onto the Advanced Apprenticeship, specialising in particular fields of animal management, or working with animal welfare organisations, amongst others. For more information about the various Apprenticeship programmes offered at Solihull College visit www.solihull.ac.uk or call the Employer Services Team on 0121 678 7181.

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