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News & Reports profession
Profession must broaden its employment horizons, says FVE ‘IT is essential that the profession expands its employment horizons and seeks to enter non-traditional roles, expanding employment options and opportunities.’ This is one of a number of ‘points for further consideration’ raised by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) following a recent survey of more than 13,000 European veterinarians. The survey, which was conducted on the FVE’s behalf by a market research company, aimed to gather benchmark data on demographic, employment and financial indicators for the profession across Europe. As well as the 13,000 responses to a questionnaire received from veterinarians in 24 FVE member countries, data from similar surveys in two further countries were incorporated, along with data from other sources. The FVE believes that this provides a solid base for interpretation and allows comparison of veterinary demographic, labour market and financial indicators between European countries. However, it says, because the survey was the first of its kind, it is not possible to determine trends at this stage.
Employment
The FVE reports that the survey clearly indicated that the majority (60 per cent) of veterinarians in Europe work in clinical practice, predominantly small animal practice. Nineteen per cent of respondents worked in public service, 6 per cent in education and research, and 4 per cent in industry and private research. A further 10 per cent were working as veterinarians in ‘other areas’. Across almost all countries, the male:female ratio was approximately 50:50, but the proportion of female veterinarians was much higher among vets under 40. Data from some countries indicated that veterinary unemployment and underemployment were significant problems. These countries, the FVE reports, ‘tend to have larger numbers of veterinary schools, producing relatively higher numbers of veterinary students, thus contributing to, or causing, the employment deficit’. However, it notes that this finding was ‘very country specific’ and related to the relative size of the total population. Despite this, it says, ‘across all countries, participating veterinarians reply that they feel there are too many veterinarians graduating’. Many vets responding to the survey indicated that they had considered, or were considering, emigrating to work in another country. ‘This reality is clearly more prevalent 584 | Veterinary Record | June 6, 2015
in those countries with higher levels of unemployment,’ the FVE says. It says that further investigation is needed to identify why many vets are considering working in another country, what role they are thinking of, key destinations and how long they plan to be away from their home country. The FVE suggests that every European member state, and their veterinary authorities, ‘must make every endeavour to manage veterinary levels to maximise job opportunities, preserve veterinary reputations through the maintenance of the highest possible professional standards and ensure that oversupply is avoided’. However, the survey also indicated that respondents expected more vets to be needed in ‘new’ fields of employment, such as monitoring animal welfare, disease control and the environment. Regarding salaries, the FVE reports that ‘salaries adjusted by the purchasing power parity (PPP) for veterinarians is significantly higher (almost 25 per cent) in all countries compared to the average PPP adjusted salaries for all employees.’ Its survey found that vets in industry were the highest earning veterinary-trained professionals, followed by those in non-vet related work and then by clinic owners. However, it reports, ‘overall, there are not substantial differences in the rates of remuneration across all sectors’.
Education
The FVE says that the survey indicated a recognised need to advance undergraduate training. It acknowledges that much has been done in recent years to widen and increase the range of skills and training offered to undergraduates, but says that there is still a need to broaden this further, to include subjects such as aquaculture and bee health as core parts of the veterinary curriculum. It reports that responses to the survey also highlighted concerns among veterinarians that the skills of recent graduates were ‘in need of improvement’. It says that this could be the result of either the increasing specialisation and complexity of practice and a more demanding public, or ‘a real failure on behalf of academic institutions to produce a core “product”, fit-for-purpose on Day 1’. Greater investigation of this matter is needed, the FVE says, so that the reasons for the concerns are identified and actions can be taken to remedy it. Respondents also felt that Day 1 competences and CPD will become more
important in the future as the profession becomes more specialised.
Practice and finance
Most European veterinary practices currently have fewer than five staff, according to the survey results. However, the FVE notes that there appears to be a trend towards increasing corporatisation and the creation of larger practice groups. This, it says, will have an impact on the style and type of veterinary employment and on earnings, work patterns and employment opportunities. The FVE reports that the survey indicated ‘a significant remunerative differential’ between male and female veterinarians, with women being paid on average 28 per cent less than men. It suggests that the difference could be due to female vets taking a break while raising a family; to them working more on a part-time basis (the survey found that 26 per cent of female respondents were working part time as opposed to 12 per cent of male respondents); or to women predominating in certain fields of specialisation that have traditionally attracted lower levels of remuneration. It remarks that ‘the family gap’ means that women may be older when they achieve the equivalent seniority of their male counterparts. The FVE also suggests that vets seem poorly prepared for retirement: ‘Across all countries, a high proportion of veterinarians noted that they had either failed to make provisions for their retirement in the form of a pension or had made inadequate provision.’ What was not clear was whether this was because of a lack of money available, a lack of knowledge, a result of high unemployment/underemployment in certain countries or because the profession is relatively young in total age profile. One finding from the survey, which the FVE describes as potentially disturbing, was that the profession was felt to have a ‘rather low reputational value’ in some central and southern European countries. The FVE points out that this was how the profession itself perceived its reputation and that this might be an unnecessarily pessimistic view, ‘but,’ it says, ‘it potentially indicates a low level of self worth in certain countries’. n The introduction and summary of the report of the FVE survey are available free of charge from www.fve.org/news/reports.php. A copy of the full report can be purchased from the same website, price e499.00. doi: 10.1136/vr.h3007
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 18, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Profession must broaden its employment horizons, says FVE Veterinary Record 2015 176: 584
doi: 10.1136/vr.h3007 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/23/584
These include:
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Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports profession
Profession must broaden its employment horizons, says FVE ‘IT is essential that the profession expands its employment horizons and seeks to enter non-traditional roles, expanding employment options and opportunities.’ This is one of a number of ‘points for further consideration’ raised by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) following a recent survey of more than 13,000 European veterinarians. The survey, which was conducted on the FVE’s behalf by a market research company, aimed to gather benchmark data on demographic, employment and financial indicators for the profession across Europe. As well as the 13,000 responses to a questionnaire received from veterinarians in 24 FVE member countries, data from similar surveys in two further countries were incorporated, along with data from other sources. The FVE believes that this provides a solid base for interpretation and allows comparison of veterinary demographic, labour market and financial indicators between European countries. However, it says, because the survey was the first of its kind, it is not possible to determine trends at this stage.
Employment
The FVE reports that the survey clearly indicated that the majority (60 per cent) of veterinarians in Europe work in clinical practice, predominantly small animal practice. Nineteen per cent of respondents worked in public service, 6 per cent in education and research, and 4 per cent in industry and private research. A further 10 per cent were working as veterinarians in ‘other areas’. Across almost all countries, the male:female ratio was approximately 50:50, but the proportion of female veterinarians was much higher among vets under 40. Data from some countries indicated that veterinary unemployment and underemployment were significant problems. These countries, the FVE reports, ‘tend to have larger numbers of veterinary schools, producing relatively higher numbers of veterinary students, thus contributing to, or causing, the employment deficit’. However, it notes that this finding was ‘very country specific’ and related to the relative size of the total population. Despite this, it says, ‘across all countries, participating veterinarians reply that they feel there are too many veterinarians graduating’. Many vets responding to the survey indicated that they had considered, or were considering, emigrating to work in another country. ‘This reality is clearly more prevalent 584 | Veterinary Record | June 6, 2015
in those countries with higher levels of unemployment,’ the FVE says. It says that further investigation is needed to identify why many vets are considering working in another country, what role they are thinking of, key destinations and how long they plan to be away from their home country. The FVE suggests that every European member state, and their veterinary authorities, ‘must make every endeavour to manage veterinary levels to maximise job opportunities, preserve veterinary reputations through the maintenance of the highest possible professional standards and ensure that oversupply is avoided’. However, the survey also indicated that respondents expected more vets to be needed in ‘new’ fields of employment, such as monitoring animal welfare, disease control and the environment. Regarding salaries, the FVE reports that ‘salaries adjusted by the purchasing power parity (PPP) for veterinarians is significantly higher (almost 25 per cent) in all countries compared to the average PPP adjusted salaries for all employees.’ Its survey found that vets in industry were the highest earning veterinary-trained professionals, followed by those in non-vet related work and then by clinic owners. However, it reports, ‘overall, there are not substantial differences in the rates of remuneration across all sectors’.
Education
The FVE says that the survey indicated a recognised need to advance undergraduate training. It acknowledges that much has been done in recent years to widen and increase the range of skills and training offered to undergraduates, but says that there is still a need to broaden this further, to include subjects such as aquaculture and bee health as core parts of the veterinary curriculum. It reports that responses to the survey also highlighted concerns among veterinarians that the skills of recent graduates were ‘in need of improvement’. It says that this could be the result of either the increasing specialisation and complexity of practice and a more demanding public, or ‘a real failure on behalf of academic institutions to produce a core “product”, fit-for-purpose on Day 1’. Greater investigation of this matter is needed, the FVE says, so that the reasons for the concerns are identified and actions can be taken to remedy it. Respondents also felt that Day 1 competences and CPD will become more
important in the future as the profession becomes more specialised.
Practice and finance
Most European veterinary practices currently have fewer than five staff, according to the survey results. However, the FVE notes that there appears to be a trend towards increasing corporatisation and the creation of larger practice groups. This, it says, will have an impact on the style and type of veterinary employment and on earnings, work patterns and employment opportunities. The FVE reports that the survey indicated ‘a significant remunerative differential’ between male and female veterinarians, with women being paid on average 28 per cent less than men. It suggests that the difference could be due to female vets taking a break while raising a family; to them working more on a part-time basis (the survey found that 26 per cent of female respondents were working part time as opposed to 12 per cent of male respondents); or to women predominating in certain fields of specialisation that have traditionally attracted lower levels of remuneration. It remarks that ‘the family gap’ means that women may be older when they achieve the equivalent seniority of their male counterparts. The FVE also suggests that vets seem poorly prepared for retirement: ‘Across all countries, a high proportion of veterinarians noted that they had either failed to make provisions for their retirement in the form of a pension or had made inadequate provision.’ What was not clear was whether this was because of a lack of money available, a lack of knowledge, a result of high unemployment/underemployment in certain countries or because the profession is relatively young in total age profile. One finding from the survey, which the FVE describes as potentially disturbing, was that the profession was felt to have a ‘rather low reputational value’ in some central and southern European countries. The FVE points out that this was how the profession itself perceived its reputation and that this might be an unnecessarily pessimistic view, ‘but,’ it says, ‘it potentially indicates a low level of self worth in certain countries’. n The introduction and summary of the report of the FVE survey are available free of charge from www.fve.org/news/reports.php. A copy of the full report can be purchased from the same website, price e499.00. doi: 10.1136/vr.h3007
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 18, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Profession must broaden its employment horizons, says FVE Veterinary Record 2015 176: 584
doi: 10.1136/vr.h3007 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/23/584
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
