Grooming Qualifications explained

The National Register of Groomers expects all its members to provide excellent service to their clients and all have signed up to the very demanding Code of Best Practice which you can access through clicking on the appropriate link on our Home Page.

However, there are no statutory requirements in Britain for dog groomers.  Anyone can start a grooming salon and there are many groomers who have worked with and learned from qualified or experienced groomers and honed their skills through practice and consequently provide a satisfactory service to their clients with no formal qualifications.

Others have taken 'short courses' to give them the basic knowledge and skills and again, through practice, have enough innate talent to fulfil the needs of their customers.  They may have certificates which are related to their course.

But these days most people wanting to have their dog groomed will, rightly, expect those caring for their dog in any grooming salon to be well qualified.  

There are a number of recognised qualifications which are based on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) - the  government authorise for creating and accrediting qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The basic qualifications are (followed by their post-nominal)
City & Guilds Level 2 Certificate for Dog Grooming Assistants - CGL2
City & Guilds Level 3 Certificate in Introductory Dog Grooming - CGL3I
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Professional Dog Grooming - CGL3D

There is also a higher (Level 4) qualification through City & Guilds which combines specific recognition of teaching, leadership and advanced styling and can lead to a City & Guilds Licentiateship -LCGI

The British Dog Groomers Association have a special award award for the most advanced groomers - membership of the Guild of Master Groomers - GMG

A relatively new qualification for the UK is that awarded by the International Professional Groomers Inc.  - ICMG