Approx. duration: 15 months
Start date: Anytime
Attendance: All assessment and training is undertaken in the workplace with occasional visits to college
Entry requirements:
- Individual employers will set their selection criteria for applicants
- Apprentices need to be employed for a minimum of 30 hours a week and have a contract of employment
- Entry into the Apprenticeship is subject to a thorough skills scan assessment to clarify course suitability
- Entry onto the Apprenticeship is subject to 4 GCSEs grades 9-1/A-G including Maths and English or Functional Skills Level 1
- Apprentices aged 16-18 years are subject to the mandatory requirement to study towards and achieve English and Maths Functional Skills at Level 2 where the Apprentice only holds the level 1 qualifications (GCSE grades D-G/3-1)
- Following the updated ESFA Apprenticeship rules, from 11th February 2025. Apprentices who begin their apprenticeship training when aged 19+ will no longer be subject to this mandatory requirement. It is now the decision of the apprentice and their employer at the start of their apprenticeship to choose to study towards a Maths and English qualification
On programme learning:
- Countryside Worker Standard
- English and Maths (if required) Level 2
Progression:
On completion of this apprenticeship, a Countryside worker will have the opportunity to progress within the industry into roles such as Estate Worker, Access/Maintenance Ranger, Site Warden, Field Operative and Volunteer Leader.
Course Summary:
Countryside workers perform specialised environmental and conservation tasks, while also understanding the relationship between practical conservation efforts and the productive and recreational uses of the countryside. This includes the management of farming activities (such as livestock and crop production), as well as sporting activities like fishing and shooting, and how these aspects align with countryside management practices.
Countryside workers will be capable and eager to take on challenging outdoor tasks in diverse and potentially remote locations, such as moorland, heathland, woodland, and coastal areas. They will engage with the public, explain their work, and carry out their duties year-round in various weather conditions, both independently and as part of a team.
Day to day work could include:
- Building and repairing a variety of field boundaries including fences, walls and hedging
- Maintaining public rights of way for walkers, cyclists and horse riders
- Improving habitats and woodland using a variety of appropriate techniques including pruning, felling or planting
- Surveying/monitoring habitats and flora and fauna to understand species numbers and relate this to relevant habitat management practices