Public Engagement
We travel across the country to schools, colleges and careers fairs to inform, educate and inspire potential future animal technicians.
Sanger RSF Experience Day
Local schools and colleges
ATP both funded and attended the Sanger RSF Work experience day in partnership with Wellcome Sanger Institute in March 2019. The aim was to get school pupils and college students to think about their career path and open their eyes to the industry. It was a fun and active workshop where we had Josefine Woodley on hand to discuss their options and the ethics on the day. We also had a bitrex face mask testing kit and model of a rodent to handle to make it a hands-on learning experience. Both Josefine Woodley and Joanna Bradshaw were passionately sharing personal life experiences and working environment experiences that helped us decide where they are today and to advocate their roles within the industry. The outcome was that some stated they were more likely to apply for a role since having their eyes opened up to the industry and some even signed up for 2020 ATP intakes. Some students simply took away useful materials, information and facts which we feel may seem only a small impact, but together we are significantly making a huge difference to how we shape the future/views of the youth of today and tomorrows future.
Writtle College / Careers Fayre and information workshop booked.
Writtle have been fantastic as educational partners and hugely supportive of the ATP. Josefine Woodley has championed and jointly led with Joanna Bradshaw on this
Maximus Employment WHP Programme / DWP Job Centre WHP Provider
We noticed there was a barrier when knocking on the doors of some job centres, so we asked the important question as to ‘why and how can we offer more information, advice and guidance’ to advisory services within the job centres. Following on from this approach, we were invited to come down and give a talk around the career path of an animal technician and to also speak to some of the staff who were unsure on promoting the industry as a whole to jobseekers. We were delighted to not only be invited in to run a workshop on the career of an Animal Technician with the jobseekers but to also be invited to come down and internally answer some frequent objections, concerns, uncertainty, and uneducated views / commonly misinterpreted myths on the industry as a whole with the staff.
We decided that to actively promote the career path, we needed the employment advisors to also be comfortable discussing the use of animals in research or at least have a basic or fair understanding as to what it is, we do. We felt that by reaching out to these groups, this could help impact the way the local public view or discuss the industry. The outcome meant that many of the staff walked away feeling ‘surprised’ about the laws on cosmetic testing, the welfare and ethical treatment of the animals and the importance and need to use animals in research. We felt it was hugely impacting to not only us but people out there who are there as ‘advisory figures’ to members of the public. Joanna Bradshaw the programme director has been a huge champion of change for this project.
The University of Lincoln
Uni of Lincoln are just 1 of the Universities that have allowed us to enter into their lectures and have scheduled in ‘ethical debates and animals in scientific research’ talks throughout the year. Josefine Woodley had led and championed this and passionately spoken from the heart of an animal technician