For the last 16 years I have been saying that regulation of the behaviour and training sector is a priority and if we (the stakeholders in the sector) don’t voluntarily present a viable regulatory structure that function will be imposed on us by the RCVS. That day has now appeared on the horizon.

With the review of the Veterinary Surgeons Act (1966) currently under way right now it is clear that services labelled ‘Allied Veterinary Professionals’ (AVPs) are to be included in future legislation and there is a plan to get the legislation in place before the end of this Parliamentary term (August 2029 at the latest). There is obviously a lot of detail to be sorted out but one clear indication at this stage is that practitioners will need a licence to practise. That licence will be based on the individual holding suitable qualifications and demonstrating the practical skills required to competently carry out their chosen role, along with insurance and monitored annual CPD.

The management of such a system will fall to one organisation for each AVP activity under the authority of the RCVS and for behaviour and training the ABTC is the only possible candidate that comes close to having the infrastructure to support established practitioner standards, policies and procedures to deliver that function. Their assessment processes have already been confirmed as complying with ISO 17067 and work towards achieving Certification Body status is in advanced stages. All practitioners will have to work to an ABTC standard and satisfy the requirements associated with it in order to gain their licence to practise. Other organisations that would hope to fulfil this role are known to be active critics of ABTC but none have the required credentials to offer a credible alternative.

The forthcoming changes will affect everyone working in the sector to some degree or another, more than anyone it will impact those who do not meet the ABTC standards for the role they currently work in or are planning to work in. There will be a need to qualify for registration with ABTC on one of the four role registers, this is typically achieved by completing a recognised course and being assessed by one of the approved assessing member organisations. Anyone who does not fit this profile could end up with difficulties when it comes to acquiring a licence, that includes anyone whose parent organisation is not an approved ABTC member or the course(s) they have completed are not recognised.

There is another route to an ABTC register which is known as APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning). It is a complex and lengthy process that assesses an individual’s knowledge and skills based on their experience carrying out the role. It should not be seen an easy option however and does not guarantee success, places are booked well into the future.

I have been predicting this development for a number of years and many people in the sector have chosen to ignore the message or offer disparaging comments in an attempt to bolster their differing opinion. Now that these predictions are beginning to come to fruition it will undoubtedly start to generate a great deal of discussion and emotion as people discover that the various routes they chose or are choosing to become ‘qualified’ turn out to be of less value than they were led to believe.

The message now is that there are just three years to get prepared, the alternative is to continue ignoring the signs in the blind hope that it will all be OK and nothing will change but that seems a bit risky when you are dealing with something as important as your career.