Recruitment and retention remain an ongoing challenge for the veterinary profession and creating positive workplace cultures and experiences is key to attracting new talent, as well as encouraging skilled staff back into the workforce.

To help tackle this, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has launched a new ‘Return to work’ toolkit to support its members returning to veterinary workplaces, and for employers and managers welcoming ‘returners’ to their teams.

New statistics from BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession Autumn 2023 survey show that 17% of vets are actively planning to leave the profession in the next five years, with another 19% unsure whether they will remain.

These figures highlight the need for employers to seriously consider how they can better support their staff, as well as potential returners, in order to improve recruitment, retention and job satisfaction among their teams.

BVA said the toolkit is the latest resource to be launched as part of its Good Veterinary Workplaces and includes support for both veterinary employees seeking to return after time away from the profession, and their potential employers.

BVA president Anna Judson said: “Whilst Brexit, the pandemic and other external factors have exacerbated the profession’s ongoing recruitment issues, we must recognise there is more we can do as a profession to retain our highly skilled teams, as well as encourage vets back into the workforce.

“We know there are many members of team vet who are not currently practising for a variety of reasons, but with the right support, could return and make an invaluable contribution.”