April 2018 - Keeping up with the Students
Keeping up with the Students
A personal letter from the Wildlife Director and Training Supervisor,
I want to introduce myself to those who have not met me. My name is Debbie Wyche aka "Cat One". I have worked with the animals and students of Cat Tales Wildlife Center and Academy since it's inception in 1991. (formerly Cat Tales Zoological Park & Zoological Training Center)
Zookeeping and Professional Animal Care requires not only classroom and textbook study, but, more importantly for those who sincerely desire employment in the industry, the need for practical experience. If you have been researching the vocation of animal care or zookeeping as a career, you have come to realize that you cannot find employment without prior experience. How do you get the experience to be hired for a position that requires sufficient prior experience? We have the answer for you!
Over the past 27 years we have instructed over 400 students in Professional Animal Care and Zookeeping. We teach employable skills and graduates of our programs are currently employed internationally, some in upper level positions within Zoological and Animal Care facilities, including AZA & ZAA accredited zoos through out the US. Cat Tales is known throughout the industry for training hard working dedicated professionals in a structured skill advancement environment. Though we do not guarantee your future employment, we will do what we can to assist quality skilled graduates in upcoming job availability. (Positions available will be dependent on the requirements of the employers; and the skill level and education of the student/graduate).
Due to changes in the zoological industry over the past 2+ years due to Covid-19 mandates and restrictions, advancements in virtual meetings, webinars, and instruction, and the current job market, we have enhanced our format for practical training of employable skills for the benefit of our students.
Internship instruction and implementation will be accomplished incorporating multiple skill levels of students on the Cat Tales Wildlife Center & Academy grounds. Students will be working in conjunction with the current animal population for illustration of technique. Classroom instruction will be virtual in nature, with a varying format of meetings, webinars, and on-line courses. Applied techniques and practices will be taught in-person when applicable. For consistency, students of different courses and skill levels may attend and receive practical or virtual instruction concurrently as industry standards and regulations change or are updated.
We are licensed by the Washington state Workforce Training and Education Board, and as such we must be approved for any change in our programs and/or instruction. Also, if there is a fee charged they oversee that too. So initial delay in offering this program to the public is based on their timeline....
We are diligently working on putting our on-site classes into an online format. It is our goal to make it as close to the instruction our current students receive on the Zoo grounds. The development of the online course is taking a bit longer than expected, but we hope to have it launched soon. Thank you for your patience. We will keep you in the know!
I want to introduce myself to those who have not met me. My name is Debbie Wyche aka "Cat One". I have worked with the animals and students of Cat Tales Wildlife Center and Academy since it's inception in 1991. (formerly Cat Tales Zoological Park & Zoological Training Center)
Zookeeping and Professional Animal Care requires not only classroom and textbook study, but, more importantly for those who sincerely desire employment in the industry, the need for practical experience. If you have been researching the vocation of animal care or zookeeping as a career, you have come to realize that you cannot find employment without prior experience. How do you get the experience to be hired for a position that requires sufficient prior experience? We have the answer for you!
Over the past 27 years we have instructed over 400 students in Professional Animal Care and Zookeeping. We teach employable skills and graduates of our programs are currently employed internationally, some in upper level positions within Zoological and Animal Care facilities, including AZA & ZAA accredited zoos through out the US. Cat Tales is known throughout the industry for training hard working dedicated professionals in a structured skill advancement environment. Though we do not guarantee your future employment, we will do what we can to assist quality skilled graduates in upcoming job availability. (Positions available will be dependent on the requirements of the employers; and the skill level and education of the student/graduate).
Due to changes in the zoological industry over the past 2+ years due to Covid-19 mandates and restrictions, advancements in virtual meetings, webinars, and instruction, and the current job market, we have enhanced our format for practical training of employable skills for the benefit of our students.
Internship instruction and implementation will be accomplished incorporating multiple skill levels of students on the Cat Tales Wildlife Center & Academy grounds. Students will be working in conjunction with the current animal population for illustration of technique. Classroom instruction will be virtual in nature, with a varying format of meetings, webinars, and on-line courses. Applied techniques and practices will be taught in-person when applicable. For consistency, students of different courses and skill levels may attend and receive practical or virtual instruction concurrently as industry standards and regulations change or are updated.
We are licensed by the Washington state Workforce Training and Education Board, and as such we must be approved for any change in our programs and/or instruction. Also, if there is a fee charged they oversee that too. So initial delay in offering this program to the public is based on their timeline....
We are diligently working on putting our on-site classes into an online format. It is our goal to make it as close to the instruction our current students receive on the Zoo grounds. The development of the online course is taking a bit longer than expected, but we hope to have it launched soon. Thank you for your patience. We will keep you in the know!