14 Sept 2022
More than £500,000 is set to be invested in the bursary scheme, which bosses say will also see graduates offered jobs within the company’s practices.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Jo Malone. Image: © VetPartners.
VetPartners has announced plans for a new bursary programme, worth more than £500,000, which it hopes will help students from poorer backgrounds to enter the profession.
Applications are now open for the scheme, which the company said will support dozens of students through their degrees and see graduates offered jobs in its practices.
The plan, which is due to be implemented from this autumn, will see 15 bursaries offered every year for five years. Successful students will receive £1,500 for each year of a five-year degree course.
Rob Williams, VetPartners’ head of talent, said, the “most deserving” applicants will be targeted for support.
He said: “This is one way VetPartners can support students from widening participation backgrounds, and hopefully enrich the profession because there is a perception that it is a white, middle-class profession.”
To apply for the support, students must be starting their degree programme this autumn and have Home Funding Status for tuition fee purposes.
They should also live in a postcode with a POLAR4 Quartile 1 or 2 postcode, where participation rates in higher education are lower, and not have previously studied for a degree or be in receipt of any other sponsorship.
Other criteria, including whether applicants are care leavers or young carers, and non-traditional entry paths will also be taken into account, while students will also be expected to submit a personal statement outlining their reasons for wanting to study veterinary medicine and how the bursary will help them.
VetPartners’ chief executive Jo Malone said: “It’s hard enough to get into vet school, but we risk losing out on fantastic vets if they can’t afford to go to university or enter the profession with tens of thousands of pounds of debt.
“We need great communicators from different socio-economic backgrounds who want to develop thriving careers and not leave the profession.
“I think it is important for VetPartners, and all the larger veterinary groups, to ensure we make a positive contribution to the profession and leave a legacy that helps people to thrive.”
