Workforce modelling report predicts future requirement for veterinary graduates

Last year the RCVS commissioned a second workforce modelling study from the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), which followed the previous study in 2000.

It was considered that because of more recent information from the RCVS Manpower Survey and the Quo Vadis study, both conducted in 2002, it would be valuable to update the model which predicts the likely requirement for veterinary graduates over the coming ten years.

Modelling exercises inevitably require a number of assumptions and the data from the various surveys help to improve the accuracy of these assumptions.

The study makes predictions on the requirement for the average annual intake of veterinary students for the next ten years based on a number of different scenarios. These include whether there will be a fall or rise in the demand for veterinary services, the effect of the increasing proportion of women in the profession, increased part-time working and numbers of career breaks, changes in retirement age and reductions in the length of the working week.