Merrist wood or Kingswood training centre?

[Richard]

Hi

 

I’m currently on a National Diploma in Countryside management in my second year and when I finish would like to progress in to training to be an Arborist, but I don’t know if I should go to Merrist wood and do a full time course or do the NPCT certificates individually at Kingswood training centre where I live in Kent.

 

My ND in countryside management already covers units in plant science, soil science, tree biology and woodland management. So if I did a full time course at Merrist wood I would have to go over the same units again at a lower level.

 

I would also have to live at Merrist wood as well and would cost way more than doing the NPTC courses on their own.

 

I’m in indecision at the moment so any advice/comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[TreeTomass]

Hi Richard,

I did the 10 week 'Tree Surgery for Craftsmen' course at Merrist wood. It covers nptc 30 31 38 and 39. It also covered a whole range of other topics, tree diseases, biology etc, just skimmed the surface on these though.

The cost ended out cheaper than doing the nptc's on their own but of course I wasn't earning during this time. Great for me because it covered the other areas too and wasn't just about chopping wood.

I lived in the woods too on sight in my camper:sneaky2:

You are probably fully aware of this course but just thought I'd share my experience of the course with you.

It was 2 days practical each week, really enjoyed it.

Some of the guys stayed on sight but I wouldn't recomend it, they had a crap time.

Hope that helped a bit, get back if you need more info.

[Richard]

Thank you for your time and knowledge

 

I have considered doing that course and if it works out cheaper than the NPTC certs it could well be an option. Was it 5 days a week and were all the assessments and NPTC examinations included in the price? What was finding a job like and did your employers like the qualification, because that’s another one of my concerns.

 

Thanks

[TreeTomass]

Yeah it was 5 days a week. I understand that they cover the four most popular nptc's that employers look for. I was quite lucky and found work within a few days of returning home. With a local guy, still work with him now.

As far as cost, I think it works out cheaper, but it appealed to me because of the general tree knowledge that it covered too, but this wouldn't matter to you so maybe just doing the nptc's somewhere would be better?

[Richard]

Thanks

 

I think I will just do the NPTC's then maybe in the future do an Arboriculture Technician Cert or something.

 

Thank you for helping me make my decision

[TreeTomass]

No problem, glad I could help.

I think that is the right decision, the course I did is better suited to total beginners or people with very little knowledge.