Careers in this sector incorporate a range of skills such as design, business, science and engineering. It's not just about working outdoors – you might work in a laboratory, shop, surgery or even a design studio.

Working with animals doesn't always mean becoming a vet – you could work in the pet care retail sector or train guide dogs. Jobs on the land vary from agricultural scientist to maintaining the tennis courts at Wimbledon.

Below you'll find links to videos created by employers and organisations in the sector to help you get a taste of what working in this sector is like.

Videos:

Careers with animals: Lots of really useful webinars here on things like: Getting into competitive veterinary medicine, work based animal and horse care, dog handling, overseas working with animals, vet nursing, wild wording and dog grooming. 

Marine conservation careers: Would you love to work in marine conservation, but don’t know where to start? Are you struggling to find work, or dream of switching careers into the deep blue? During this live event, we spoke to leading marine conservationists to answer your questions about marine conservation careers.

Conservation internships/volunteering: In this free webinar from Conservation Careers, speakers bust the myth that conservationists should spend years in expensive internships and volunteering. 

How to apply for any conservation job: a free webinar to master a system for success that you can apply to ANY job application in your career – whether you’re a graduate, career switcher or professional.

An introduction to a variety of different jobs involving or supporting sustainability: This webinar is the first of a series of three focusing on careers in sustainability. In this webinar four Scotland-based sustainability professionals give insights into their careers paths as well as advice for anyone who would like to pursue a career in sustainability. 

Getting into the agricultural industry – a story from a young farmer: He shares his early journey with you from initially getting a stepping stone into the agricultural industry, to where he is now. 

Subject Guide Videos:
An impartial guide to university courses - featuring expert speakers and on demand webinars.
These impartial videos support students who are considering university to make informed future subject decisions. They feature guest speakers from a range of different universities, who are always experts in the subject being explored.

Unifrog Free Webinars:

Live webinars across a variety of careers - requires booking.

Adviza Podcasts and Past Webinars:

We have recorded many useful webinars with a huge variety of employers and sector champions. Have a look in our Past Webinar section.

The webinars are in date order. You may want to check out these dates to find webinars in relation to Environment, plants and animals: 

• 28th November 2023 - Veterinary Nursing
• 28th March 2023 - Careers in Geography.
• 30th November 2021 - Employer Webinar (Thames Water)

Don't forget to have a look at the upcoming webinars in our Events section!

Virtual work experience opportunities:

It is universally acknowledged that gaining work experience is a challenge, particularly for students from less privileged backgrounds and this is becoming of lesser importance for applications. If students have really struggled to achieve actual veterinary practice work experience, then kennels, cattery, farm etc work experience is valued but even customer facing work experience (eg from a volunteering role or a job in a pub/shop/other business) is still very valuable to teach communication skills.

This free course is also available to try to fill some of the gaps and will be counted as 2 weeks’ worth of work experience by many vet schools (See the VSC Guide for more info or the individual University websites for their vet schools). Students can screen shot the last completion screen and do not need to pay for a certificate of completion.

Virtual Work Experience and Exploring the Veterinary Profession
Learn what it takes to become a vet and explore the challenges of the vet profession to decide if it's the right career for you.

University of Nottingham Veterinary Work Experience

A Week in the Life of a Vet Student

Do you have what it takes to be a vet student?

Free online courses on nature and the environment available through the Open University

Explore Forage Work Experience Programs

Media to Explore:

Many young people have been inspired by TV shows, movies etc. to follow a particular career. We have collated some resources here for you to discover. We have included podcasts because they are the best way to get real insight into the industry’s current dynamics and are a great way to demonstrate knowledge and passion in personal statements and interviews.

Please note, we have not specified the platforms for these resources as they can change over time. We suggest you do a web search for the title – you will often find them on YouTube in their entirety. Some titles will only be available for a fee or subscription.

Please be aware that not all of the titles below are appropriate for all ages. Please check the age appropriateness before watching. Common sense media are a good resource to use to do this.

TV Factual: The Green Planet, Our Planet, New Lives in the Wild, An Inconvenient Truth, The Cove, I am Greta, Pick of the Litter, Dogs, Planet Earth, Our Yorkshire Farm, The Ivory Game, The Secret Life of the Zoo, Supervet, The Vet Life, The Yorkshire Vet, Blooming History, Natural World, Springwatch, Living World, Kiss The Ground, Mission Blue, Occupied, One Strange Rock, Seven Worlds, One Planet, Earth Moves, Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World, The Secret Life of our Pets

TV Drama: The Trick, All Creatures Great and Small, Wild at Heart

TV Reality: The Dog House, Pooch Perfect

Film: Don’t Look Up, Erin Brockovitch, The Day After Tomorrow, Who Killed the Electric Car?, Food, Inc,

Radio & Podcasts:  BBC Sounds Costing The Earth, BBC Sounds Wild Inside, Nature, Home Planet, Sustainababble, How to Save the Plant, The Wild, PETA podcast, Animal Radio, All Creatures, Vet School Unleashed

Useful Websites:

eCLIPS Environment, Animals and Plants

Agriculture

Landex - a body representing land-based colleges.

NFU (National Farmers' Union) - for news and information on farming and job vacancies.

Job vacancies in agriculture can be viewed on the Farmers Weekly website.

Agricultural Recruitment Specialists. 

Horticulture

Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIH) - for industry news and links to grants and bursaries.

Grow Careers - website (from the the CIH) that has information on the range of careers in horticulture.

Horticulture Week - magazine website has industry news, careers articles and job vacancies.

To search for horticulture jobs try Fresh Horticultural Careers and Horticruitment. 

The Horticultural Correspondence College -a specialist distance-learning provider. 

Go Landscape - for landscaping careers, and to search for Apprenticeships and course providers.

RHS - for case studies of a range of careers in horticulture

Environment

Green Jobs For Nature

Green Careers

Countryside jobs

Working with animals

The Vet School’s Council (VSC) Admissions Guide is updated every year and contains very useful comparisons of all of the UK courses and their Admissions requirements. 

Becoming a vet  advice from the British Veterinary Association

A myth busting guide from the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

Animal Care College - offers a wide range of distance-learning courses.

Animal Behaviour & Training Council (ABTC) - sets and oversees standards of professional competence for animal trainers, training instructors and animal behaviour therapists. Click on 'Practitioners' for careers information and details on ABTC-recognised courses.

The College of Animal Welfare - offers careers information (see under 'Students') and a range of animal care courses and Apprenticeships; has centres in Leeds, North London, Huntingdon, Edinburgh, Solihull and Wigan, as well as offering online programmes.

The British Association of Zoos and Aquariums 

International Cat Care - provides distance-learning courses in feline health, welfare and behaviour.

Pet Industry Federation - (click on 'PIF Education') for information on qualifications in pet retail, dog walking and grooming etc.

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW):

For links to land-based colleges that may offer courses related to animals see Landex.

CareerWithAnimals - for careers information and case studies on people working with animals.

Animal Jobs Direct - an independent training provider offering courses relating to animals.

Job vacancies can be found on Animal Jobs Direct.