Any Certification Required For Groundsman

[Witterings]

I'm thinking about offereing local arborists help as a groundsman in return for wood as opposed to payment i.e. on a voluntary basis and trying to find out if I need any qualifications to do so and if so what the minimum would be.

 

I work for myself sitting behind a desk all day and sometimes it drives me stir crazy, I just want to do something I'd enjoy and that gets me outside even if only on an occasional basis but also as a way of seeing if it's something I'd want to do longer term and as partial income.

If that was a route I decided to go down I'd put myself through qualifications at a later stage and then try and find part time work when someone needed an extra pair of hands or had been let down.

 

Any advice anyone can give much appreciated.

[maybelateron]

There are no qualifications needed to be a basic groundie if you are only dragging brash, moving timber etc. A climber should have one groundie on the job who is qualified in carrying out aerial rescue of a casualty, so you would only be of use (to a team who go by the rule book) where the job has 3 people or more. From an insurance point of view you should have a certificate of training in use of a chipper, if you are going to use one. If you have a pre 97 driving licence, or a trailer towing licence that can be useful. The best attribute you can offer is being reliable, punctual, fun to work with even when the weather is awful etc. Using initiative stands out, like picking up a rake when there is a lull in the activity - but don't go into the climber's drop zone unannounced! What part of the country are you in.

[Rough Hewn]

I'm thinking about offereing local arborists help as a groundsman in return for wood as opposed to payment i.e. on a voluntary basis and trying to find out if I need any qualifications to do so and if so what the minimum would be.
 
I work for myself sitting behind a desk all day and sometimes it drives me stir crazy, I just want to do something I'd enjoy and that gets me outside even if only on an occasional basis but also as a way of seeing if it's something I'd want to do longer term and as partial income.
If that was a route I decided to go down I'd put myself through qualifications at a later stage and then try and find part time work when someone needed an extra pair of hands or had been let down.
 
Any advice anyone can give much appreciated.

Steel toe capped boots
Thick work trousers
Gloves.
[emoji106]

[Khriss]

1 hour ago, Rough Hewn said:

Steel toe capped boots
Thick work trousers
Gloves.

Brain

"coughs"  k

[Paddy1000111]

Waterproofs... 😂 

In all seriousness though, if you want to do it to see if it's a future career move go and do CS30 so you can use a chainsaw on the ground and then maybe cs31 if you wanted so you can fell small stuff. CS30 would make you more useful than just a branch dragger! 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Paddy1000111

[Witterings]

4 hours ago, maybelateron said:

There are no qualifications needed to be a basic groundie if you are only dragging brash, moving timber etc. A climber should have one groundie on the job who is qualified in carrying out aerial rescue of a casualty, so you would only be of use (to a team who go by the rule book) where the job has 3 people or more. From an insurance point of view you should have a certificate of training in use of a chipper, if you are going to use one. If you have a pre 97 driving licence, or a trailer towing licence that can be useful. The best attribute you can offer is being reliable, punctual, fun to work with even when the weather is awful etc. Using initiative stands out, like picking up a rake when there is a lull in the activity - but don't go into the climber's drop zone unannounced! What part of the country are you in.

 

Brilliant and than you for that .. some really useful info!

 

I've subsequently gone and found out about the training courses available and spoken with Kingswood training who were incredibly helpful although probably too far away from me.

To a degree it's slightly catch 22 especially if doing it for some wood or as paid work. The chipper course is about £ 225 which is probably worth doing but still doesn't enable you to use a chainsaw at all .... I'm guessing it'd be a lot more useful (and more interesting for me) if I could limb / cut up on the ground and even more usefull again if could fell small trees but with each step the cost gets higher.

It's that balance between how much I'd do it in the longer term and if it's worth making the investment although the NPTC certfication lasts a lifetime.

 

I'm based just south of Chichester on the coast.  

 

EDIT: The above got posted whlst I was typing 😄

Edited January 12, 2021 by Witterings

[Will C]

leave your fone in your pocket while working!

 

Arborventure training in the newforest might not be to far away for any training you decide on. There a cracking bunch and come highly recommended 

 

Arbor Venture Training Arboriculture Courses and Assessments

ARBORVENTURE.CO.UK

 

[Witterings]

23 minutes ago, Will C said:

 

leave your fone in your pocket while working!

 

 

😰 😂  So true about the the phone, people who can't leave them alone drive me nuts.

Made the mistake of buying the Mrs a smart phone for b'day a couple of years ago mainly because she loves her photography and thought it'd be nice to always have a camera with her ... as made famous in the Pretty Woman film .... HUGE mistake!!

[Jack.P]

Interesting thread but possibly not a great deal .sometimes I do similar work and use to take some loads at the end of the day to sell but decided after a while it wasn’t worth bothering with .i would rather pay and get small diameter cordwood which is much quicker to process 

[Paddy1000111]

18 minutes ago, Jack.P said:

Interesting thread but possibly not a great deal .sometimes I do similar work and use to take some loads at the end of the day to sell but decided after a while it wasn’t worth bothering with .i would rather pay and get small diameter cordwood which is much quicker to process 

Sounds like the OP is wanting to get out the office and see if this is a career move for him more than a source for wood!