Are there any vet jobs left?
As we move further into the global coronavirus lockdown – many of us are facing both health and economic concerns.
And many people globally have been furloughed or made redundant.
And for some amongst us, we were actually in the middle of changing jobs when these lockdown conditions occurred and now have been left with no job to go to , to go back to or any support to look forward to.
In light of this, we are taking a very brief overview of the global veterinary economy as things stand at time of writing.
What you must remember that situations remain very fluid and ever interchangeable.
FOR BUSINESSES:
Most veterinary businesses, are counting their pennies very carefully at the moment and although many have had expansion or recruitment plans in place for 2020 these have now been defferred or delayed for a few months initially. There are options and way around the classic recruitment model to still continue to hire. If you as a business want further advice on this for current hires or how to initiate the process of further contracts as we move into 2020 feel free to get in touch.
LOCUM OPTIONS:
Locum options in general across the board are in short supply currently, placing increasing pressure on many of the self – employed out there in every major veterinary country.
We would suspect that contracts may be in short supply until the end of May / Start of June at the very earliest. Keep an eye on this one as it will change as we move forward.
PERMANENT OPTIONS:
There are still some good permanent options out there.
Although many veterinary companies in a range of countries have had their hiring capacity reduced, there are still some good permanent jobs out there, and there are still some corporate/independent businesses ready to hire from the UK to Australia.
This has been particularly popular with some locum or self-employed individuals who have explored this option to create some stability in cash flow for the next year by confirming a permanent contract.
UK / IRELAND:
The UK / Irish employment markets remain challenging, and with the latest govt guidelines showing that there will be no change to the current lockdown regulations until mid May at the very earliest the advice as laid out above particularly for locums remains – there will be limited work until this next period of time has passed.
However, there is an ongoing build up of routine work which has not been completed in practices, we may see an increase of work on the other side of the lockdown which may work in favour for temporary contractors.
Permanent options remain a viable option.
NEW ZEALAND / AUSTRALIA:
Reports are markedly different in these countries.
New Zealand is gearing up to start to ease workplace restrictions from next week and many practices are hoping to increase business activities incrementally. Hopefully the situation continues to improve here and we are already completing some temporary and locum contracts, particularly on the farm and mixed side of the industry (although some small animal options are available) and ongoing permanent hires are available.
Australia is still at a different point in the pandemic to New Zealand but they have to this point dealt with it well and veterinary businesses continue to remain interested in hiring permanent staff within the country and explore future relocation contracts from vets internationally.
Currently both these countries potentially offer improving workplace options moving forward in 2020.
USA / CANADA:
The hiring situation is difficult here.
Many of our Canadian clients will not be hiring for the next couple of months however they may start interviewing via video link from next month (situation dependent). So the best advice here is to get in contact with us for up to date info.
The USA are hoping to “open for business” sooner rather than later which has been well documented in the media, however deaths and cases are still skyrocketing there so any guidance on either changing jobs within the country or relocating internationally there have to be met with a conservative attitude.
HONG KONG / ASIA:
Markets are starting to open up again here, but there is a fear of a second wave, veterinary businesses have been reserved in their hiring attitudes and it would seem this would remain for the next few months.
OVERVIEW:
So to sum up:
- Locum Options – will be limited for the next 2-3 months at least.
- Perm Options – Some good companies are still hiring with good career prospects.
- NZ/AU – NZ is starting to ease restrictions and AU has dealt with the pandemic well so both may be the best countries to explore for forthcoming job access.
- USA / CA – act conservatively
- UK / Ireland – permanent contracts are the most likely immediate option for work, until re-assessment in mid summer.
As always all of our experts are on hand to discuss any issue – so feel free to get in touch today on info@thevetservice.com or if you are already a member contact your personal advisor.
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