This qualification is designed to develop a higher understanding of Arboriculture and Forestry and is the equivalent to 3 A Levels and on successful completion of your qualification you will receive UCAS points. This is a two-year, full-time course. This qualification is designed to develop a higher understanding of Arboriculture and Forestry and is the equivalent to 3 A Levels and on successful completion of your qualification you will receive UCAS points.
This qualification is designed to provide you with a very wide range of specialist technical skills and detailed knowledge and understanding which will equip you to seek a diverse range of employment opportunities or to further learning and training within the arboricultural industries.
This qualification allows you to learn about and build on the essentials of safe working with equipment and machinery, chainsaw use and planting and establishment of trees. You will be able to undertake a range of estate maintenance skills such as boundary maintenance and fencing. You will study theory-based modules such as; soil and plant science, as well as tree science, plus you will learn about tree pests and diseases.
Students will specialise in arboriculture and will study areas such as how to support arboriculture operations from the ground and arboricultural skills (accessing the canopy, simple pruning at height and supporting tree climbing operations). You could also study advanced arboricultural practices such as aerial tree inspections and specialist canopy pruning. You could also learn about tree surveys and inspections, data analysis and legislation relating to trees in the UK.
There is also a mandatory requirement to complete 150 hours of work experience, per year.
This two-year qualification exposes you to the whole industry and the opportunities within it. On completion, you will likely enter the industry by working for an Arboricultural or Forestry company. As you will have gained a breadth and depth of skills and knowledge over a wide range of units, you could progress within work to become:
- Tree worker (ground)
- Tree worker (aerial)
You may wish to move onto an Advanced Apprenticeship in Trees and Timber, which allows you to combine working for a forestry contractor, in an arboretum, or a similar job, and typically attending one day a week at college or with a training provider.
You may wish to progress onto further learning within a Higher Education Institution. You could go on to study subjects such as:
- Arboriculture Foundation Degree
- Forestry and Woodland Management Foundation
- Degree
- Woodland Conservation Management FdSc
- Woodland Conservation Management BSc (Hons)
Whilst undertaking Arboriculture learning learners must understand the inherent physically demanding nature of the course. It is therefore important that students inform the college of any relevant long or short-term medical condition to allow appropriate risk assessment to ensure their safety during learning. This can be disclosed either on enrolment or raised to your teaching team. All information disclosed in this regard will be treated confidentially.
