Grooming Schools and the PGC
The Professional Grooming Credential (PGC) creates a foundation for standardizing the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as a professional pet groomer. This voluntary program sets national and international standards for what accomplished groomers should know and be able to perform. The PGC exam is a knowledge and skills assessed examination which identifies professional groomers who are competent in the following detailed Scope of Practice areas:
Pet Health and Well-Being - Technical Skills - Safety - Business Practices
As a School offering instruction in the practice of pet grooming, PGC offers your School a nationally recognized credentialing program to support, challenge and move the dial on your Schools’ pet grooming program.
Impact of the PGC
The PGC program allows practicing pet groomers and future pet groomers the ability to have a united Standard of Care and Knowledge. The PGC exam measures the knowledge and the skills of candidates in a professional exam setting, developed under rigorous scrutiny from a nationally recognized testing partner: Professional Testing Corporation. From foundational competency to best practices, the PGC exam ensures that candidates are well-equipped for a career in pet grooming.
How does your school get involved with the PGC?
Step 1: Our PGC team will assist your School with questions, information and aligning your grooming curricula with the PGC Standards of Care and Knowledge. Please email info@wpamail.org
Step 2: Download the PGC Candidate Handbook for detailed information including knowledge areas tested, areas of practice assessed, and more.
Step 3: Determine Eligibility:
- Must be a school, institution, academy which offers grooming instruction.
- Must provide a course syllabus with learning objectives.
- School must provide a published catalog of available courses.
- Each course which is advertised as aligning with the PGC must receive a separate badge with skills needed for the PGC Exam.
Participation in PGC Approved Education programs is not mandatory in order to sit for the PGC exam, however, the content approved and listed has been peer reviewed to ensure that it meets PGC Content Standards. Only PGC Approved Education content is qualified to receive CEU’s under the PGC program.
Step 4: Encourage your Educators to receive PGC Approved Badges for their educational content to maximize your enrollment and the success of your students on their journey toward a career as a professional groomer.
Step 5: Support your students and graduates to become PGC credentialed groomers. The PGC exam validates the working professional groomer and encourages the student who is beginning their career toward industry best practices in knowledge and safety. All working groomers from new to tenured realize the benefit of moving pet grooming into the realm of a professional trade.
