Meet our remarkable Senior Grooming Development and Expertise Trainer, Shona Timperley
Shona joined Pets Grooming in Stockport when she was just 19 and went on to help us launch our best-in-class dog grooming qualification with the iPET Network.
Before becoming a dog groomer, Shona always had a passion for animals and studied Business and Equine at Diploma level, but decided horses were more of a hobby than a career, so jumped at the chance to join Pets at Home in its inaugural years when she spotted an opportunity too good to miss.
“I decided to change my job pathway and worked at another large retailer, gaining experience, and learning on the job. Then, I ran my own business for a while which eventually brought me to Pets at Home, where I became qualified, achieving my Level 3 City & Guilds Diploma in Dog Grooming.
I jumped at the chance to join as I’d heard about all the rewards and benefits that came with being employed by such a well-respected company. The people were great to work with and I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.”
In 2002, shortly after her son was born, she left the business to set up her own mobile grooming salon, which enabled her to spend more time with her son in his early years. A couple of years later, her daughter was born, and she decided she needed more stability, so joined another corporate grooming business, before returning to our salon inside Pets at Home in Stockport as Salon Manager in 2008. In 2015, she made the leap to Support Office to become our Grooming Development Manager, progressing to our Grooming Development and Expertise Trainer in 2018 until, recently becoming our Senior Grooming Development and Expertise Trainer with People Lead, focussing more on colleague retention, recruitment and salaries.
“In my current role, I look after nearly 50 salons and support the assistants with dog grooming training, from bathing and drying to clipping and styling. I assess at each stage of the grooming process and conduct practical and theory courses. I’m also a People Lead, so support with recruitment amongst other things. I’m always on hand for the salons to contact me with any issues or queries that are grooming-related.
During my time with Pets at Home, I’ve worked on lots of projects, ranging from photoshoots for our grooming spa campaigns to recruitment support and working with our Apprenticeship team to offer young learners a positive career start. My biggest project to date was working with iPET, developing a qualification that is bespoke to Pets at Home and the biggest in the grooming industry.”
iPET
The iPET qualification takes our current training programme to the next level, and includes an extensive enhanced training programme, spanning health and safety, emergency first aid for dogs, styling, and dog behaviour and handling for groomers. The qualification is industry-leading and was developed in partnership with the iPET Network, an independent regulated training provider which creates qualifications in the animal care and veterinary sector.
Our Head of Grooming, Karl Atkinson, said: “Grooming is an essential part of our pets’ health and welfare, and that’s why providing our colleagues with the very best training is so important to us. We’re proud to be leading the way and empowering our grooming teams with the best knowledge in the industry, ensuring we can continue to deliver the best possible care to every pet we meet.”
Shona worked closely with another Senior Grooming Development & Expertise Trainer, Natalia Swietlik, to develop the qualification over the past couple of months and became an integral part to its success.
Shona said: “A close working relationship has been the key to getting this right and the qualification has progressed into one of the best in the world. The iPET Network Level 3 Diploma in Dog Grooming (Exclusive to Pets at Home) has been developed by building on the original iPET diploma and learners will earn 120 credits versus 40 credits on the standard L3. Meaning this qualification is 3 times greater in depth and breadth of learning.
I love seeing colleagues develop, and knowing that I’ve supported in that, makes me so proud. I feel a real sense of achievement when I see colleagues developing in their own careers.”
Our Pets Grooming colleagues currently benefit from a thorough six-month internal training programme, a minimum of 1,000 hours of learning, and are continually assessed throughout their career. Our first 400 colleagues started the training for the qualification in the last month, with hundreds more planned to take part over the next two years across all 355 Pets Grooming salons.
Thinking of joining one of our Pets Grooming locations?
Shona has the perfect advice for anyone wanting to join Pets Grooming:
“Pets at Home is a great company to work for, not only do we have great benefits, but our teams are also amazing. There are opportunities to progress in your career and lots of support if needed.”
Find out more, here.