We might be a little be biased, but we think ecology is the most exciting and rewarding career you can have. But for that same reason, it’s a competitive field, and expectations are high if you’re applying for jobs. So let’s look at some of the key skills for ecologists. And help you stand out from the crowd and secure your dream job.

Key Skills for Ecologists

Trying to gain employment in ecology without any experience can be frustrating. But working on these key skills for ecologists can help you show that you are dedicated and keen to learn. Most employers expect to have to give some training to entry-level ecologists. However, by demonstrating that you already have some of these important skills you will instantly become a more appealing prospect. Employers will love that they can put you to work right away. 

Ecologists are required to learn quite a diverse range of skills. Some of what you need to learn will depend on the job you want, and where you will be working. Here, we will focus on jobs in ecological consultancy, where there is usually an expectation that you have a relevant degree. If you do not, then we recommend you do our Certificate in Conservation Management. This will give you a good grounding in practical conservation, and will act as a platform from which you can learn ecological consultancy.

Remember if you don’t want to work for someone else, setting up your own ecological consultancy is an excellent way of turning your dreams into a reality. By gaining some knowledge and confidence through our Certificate in Ecological Consultancy you can go ahead and start working for yourself. Our Business Blueprint is also designed to give you all the tools you need to set up your own consultancy, avoiding any of the common pitfalls. Whether you want to work for yourself, or for someone else, here are some of the key skills every ecologist must learn.

Key skills for Ecologists: Botany

Being able to identify plants, by eye or using a botanical key, is a dying art. But, one that is in high demand in the ecological world. Botany and plant identification skills help us to ensure that we are classifying habitats accurately, recording rare or vulnerable species, and correctly recognising invasives. 

This is a skill that takes practice and time to learn. But there also aren’t very many courses available to get you started. Our Beginner’s Botany course is held as an online or face-to-face course. They run between May and September, when you can go outside and observe plants to help you learn. We encourage you to go out and learn some plants in your local area. We teach you how to use a botanical key and help you gain confidence and knowledge on plant identification. 

Key Skill 2: Bat Surveying

Working with bats represents a huge amount of what we do in ecological consultancy. Bats are legally protected in the UK and all development projects must take into them into account. Therefore, if you are able to carry out a bat survey, even if you don’t have a bat licence, you will instantly more employable in ecological consultancy. You can work to support licenced bat workers and continue working towards your own licence, on the job. 

Bats are of critical importance, and are considered essential bioindicators, so working with them is rewarding and interesting. Many of the key skills for ecologists in the UK centre around working with bats.

To learn more about working with bats, we recommend starting with our Bat Ecology and Surveying course. This course gives you a solid foundation from which to build on your knowledge. You can then volunteer your services to learn more and gain valuable experience. Once you are confident surveying you will be paid! By gaining or showing that you are working towards your bat licence, you’re sure to impress any potential employers.

You can also develop more detailed skills with us. Such as learning Health and Safety Awareness for Bat Workers, Bat Activity Surveying and Surveying Trees for Bats. These courses and many more are included in our Bat Licence Training. 

Key Skill 3: Habitat Mapping

In order to work in ecology, create reports and accurately advise on conservation and development plans you must be able to identify habitats. With this comes the ability to map habitats. This skill is often a key part of report writing and helps you clearly and accurately state your findings. The pre-cursor to this is learning botany, so that you are able to identify key indicator species for particular habitats. 

We offer an online course on Phase 1 Habitat Mapping and live webinars on using the free GIS software, QGIS, for mapping habitats on a computer. 

Key Skill 4: Protected Species Surveying

Understanding the legislation around protected species can give you a big leg up when it comes to promoting yourself to employers. If you want to take this further, you can also learn the principal surveying techniques for the protected species you are most likely to encounter where you live or work. This will include bats, as we already discussed, but also Great Crested Newts, Dormice, Reptiles, Beavers, Badgers, Otters and Water Voles. Alternatively, you might want to try our Surveying for Protected Species course. This gives you an introduction into all of the main survey techniques, covering may key skills for ecologists.

We have courses that will help teach you about each of these individually. However, if you take our Certificate in Ecological Consultancy, you will gain a broad understanding of how to survey for all of them. we also cover the law surrounding them, and give you the option of focussing on a few.

Key Skill 5. Habitat Management

Ecological consultants are often asked to produce habitat management or improvement plans. So, it’s important to learn what is involved with this. You will need to understand the key habitats such as woodlands and grasslands. Then you will need to know how to survey them and how to create a management plan for them. 

Besides creating management plans, you may also be asked to inspect habitats and report on their condition. Or you may be asked to give an update on an existing management plan.

Our online habitat management course is designed to give you an introduction to everything you need to know on this subject. This includes information about why habitat management is important, which is something you may need to explain to some clients.

Other Important Key Skills for Ecologists

There are also plenty of skills that you may have developed outside of the world of ecology that can help you on your way to gaining employment. This includes report writing, communication skills, computing skills and first aid. It’s also important to consider that ecological consultancy requires a certain level of physical fitness too. So, if you are planning on working towards becoming an ecological consultant, consider developing your fitness, if needed. 

Our Certificate in Ecological Consultancy is only open to students who have a relevant degree, or relevant experience in ecology. But if you want to get into ecological consultancy without going back to university, you may want to consider taking our Certificate in Conservation Management. This course can be used as a foundation for the Certificate in Ecological Consultancy as well as many other related careers.

You will learn practical skills that are applicable in real life work scenarios. Unlike returning to University where you will spend years working on complex theories that simply don’t have practical applications outside of academia. We would love to help you achieve the career of your dreams. So, we have a wide range of courses to support you. We look forward to having you come and learn with us