Meet Liam, 25, from Shropshire, and find out about life as a catchment officer at the Wessex Rivers Trust. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Liam:
I'm Liam, I'm 25 years old, and I'm a catchment officer.
I grew up in Shrewsbury, which is a little town in Shropshire. I got into my career, I suppose, through fishing with my father and gaining a real appreciation for the river and the way it works.
So at school I definitely shied away from the humanities subjects. I had a preference for more hands-on subjects such as Resistant Materials, sciences, and Geography. I think I'm much more of a logical learner, rather than somebody who learns from reading lots and lots. So I went and did Countryside Management as a BTEC. I also did an A-level in Maths. I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to work around the water.
As a catchment officer, my role is extremely varied. I work with all the partners within the catchment to work together to try and deliver habitat restoration and water quality improvements for the river. Naturally, rivers are free roaming - they roam the countryside, and they support an abundance of life and the biodiversity that lives within them is very healthy, or at least it should be very healthy.
Unfortunately, people have altered rivers for their own benefit a lot of the time, whether that be things such as mills to create power or with farmers and farming intensively. All of these things have a negative impact on the biodiversity and the ecosystem itself.
So my job is to work with these people to advise them on how they can best improve their practices and how they can work with us so we can help them make the river a better place for biodiversity and wildlife.
I've always been drawn back to water for reasons I really don't understand. It's just the fluidity of it, and how it acts, how it makes me feel. And now I have a job that I thoroughly enjoy and consider myself to be one of the luckiest people alive.
It's my job to help make the river a better place for biodiversity and wildlife.
- Liam's job combines his knowledge of aquatic science with his passion for fishing
- Liam preferred practical subjects and chose A-level Maths and a BTEC in Countryside Management at college
- His job is to restore riverbeds and floodplains and to keep water levels safe.
Liam's job focuses on rivers and river restoration. His job is similar to the role of a countryside officer. Countryside officers manage, protect and improve the rural environment.
What to expect if you want to be a countryside officer
- Countryside officer average salary: £19,000 to £34,000 per year
- Countryside officer typical working hours: 39 to 41 hours per week
What qualifications do you need to be a countryside officer?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 2 Diploma, a Level 3 Certificate or a T-level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production - England-only, from Sept 2023) or an intermediate apprenticeship for countryside workers or higher apprenticeship for countryside rangers. Check with your course provider which alternative qualifications they accept. Paid or unpaid work experience can be very useful when applying for jobs. Organisations like The Conservation Volunteers, the National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts offer training for volunteers.
Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service, GOV.UK
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed and the GOV.UK website for more on T-levels.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
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