Official veterinarians training support

Only vets holding the relevant Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary), who are full members of the RCVS and are working in Great Britain (GB) can be authorised as Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Official Veterinarians (OVs).    

Scottish Government support relates to the following Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary), as provided by Improve International, an established provider of continuing veterinary education and professional development:

• OCQ(V) - ES (Essential Skills)
• OCQ(V) - SS (Statutory Surveillance)
• OCQ(V) - TT (Tuberculin Testing) 

In recognition of the important work undertaken by large animal veterinarians who deliver official veterinarian work in Scotland, we are funding:

• registration fee and training for new OVs for ES, SS and TT
• ongoing revalidation courses for ES, SS, TT

For these courses you should email us at animal.health@gov.scot and request a code that will enable you to undertake your course (and registration fee for new OVs) without having to make payment.

When emailing to request a code please provide your name, name and address of current practice and SP number.

Please do not request a code if you do not work in Scotland.

All requests for a training code will be checked for eligibility and all use of the code will be subject to checks.

To use the code simply enter it in the payment section on the Improve International website and this will then bypass the requirement to pay for your course.

Given that there are a significant number of vets due to revalidate, please be patient when you request a code. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible.

Funding for ‘grandfather rights’ OVs revalidating OCQ(V) - ES

Previously, in June 2019, we announced funding for those who were originally awarded GF rights for the OCQ(ES) and who had a revalidation deadline of 30 June 2019.

If you paid Improve International direct, funding is still available to retrospectively reimburse you for the course enrolment fee.

If you have not already done so you can still email animal.health@gov.scot with your details. Please ensure that the practice name is included in any correspondence.