Arborist are we skilled or semi skilled

[Ian Flatters]

Guys i can make loads of these up if anyone wants a skilled arborist certificate:lol:

Certificate of skilled workers.pdf

[Dean Lofthouse]

I'm of the same thought train as most in that skill comes with experience not pieces of paper.

 

Peices of paper say you have a basic understanding.

 

Dis-mantling a huge awkward or storm damaged tensioned up tree requires skill and planning and an understanding of the technical side of things to do it safely and competently.

 

We've all done made cuts to a tensioned branch with some degree of uncertainty, but to do it with certainty is where skill comes in.

 

I'm sick to death of coming across people of all trades that are supposed "technicians" and they are nothing without diagnostic equipment.

 

I do not believe qualifications make you skilled, they give you a basic platform to work from thats all.

[Ian Flatters]

I'm of the same thought train as most in that skill comes with experience not pieces of paper.

 

Peices of paper say you have a basic understanding.

 

Dis-mantling a huge awkward or storm damaged tensioned up tree requires skill and planning and an understanding of the technical side of things to do it safely and competently.

 

We've all done made cuts to a tensioned branch with some degree of uncertainty, but to do it with certainty is where skill comes in.

 

I'm sick to death of coming across people of all trades that are supposed "technicians" and they are nothing without diagnostic equipment.

 

I do not believe qualifications make you skilled, they give you a basic platform to work from thats all.

:congrats::congrats:

 

Spot on Dean.

[Ben90]

I do not believe qualifications make you skilled, they give you a basic platform to work from thats all.

 

 

Although nowadays qualifications are more about arse-covering when the poo hits the fan. I know a guy with no NPTC's but boy can he cut & climb.

 

And I bet the only reason reading that made some of you guys wince is because you don't want him working for you due to the lack of said tickets. If so, point proven

[Stephen Blair]

i worked for 12 years with no tickets, i have taught myself everything through giving it a bash, and teaching myself and learning from my experiences. But i would of got up to speed so much quicker with a mentor, that is a fact. But if you cant find one or a job that you need or want, there is no point sitting in the house, just buy a saw and harness and call a sign writer and insurance company, they never ask for tickets and its up to you to make sure you never need to use it, not saying this is an ideal situation, but i bet its how most of us got started

[Mark Bolam]

In a nutshell -

 

Some of what we do is very skilled (intricrate pruning/big rigging).

 

Some is unskilled (dragging conny all day).

 

The arb game is massively variable, and outsiders don't always see the whole picture. From them, semi-skilled seems a fair summation really.

 

To us - well you know how skilled you are, don't you?

[Stephen Blair]

i think it terrifies some people that joe blogs off the street, that was pretty fit and keen to learn, could be brought up to speed with a saw and harness in a week or 2. all we are doing is hanging from a rope. take a look at the lads that do supercross, now that is a skill, or an acrobat. they could do our jobs with their eyes shut. ARB is made up bravado. tree cutting has been around for centuries. most laugh at guys who cut down trees with no ppe or access kit. thats how i used to do it as a teenager, you try sectioning a tree with one arm wrapped around it, once i got a rope and harness it was easy.

[Mesterh]

i think it terrifies some people that joe blogs off the street, that was pretty fit and keen to learn, could be brought up to speed with a saw and harness in a week or 2. all we are doing is hanging from a rope. take a look at the lads that do supercross, now that is a skill, or an acrobat. they could do our jobs with their eyes shut. ARB is made up bravado. tree cutting has been around for centuries. most laugh at guys who cut down trees with no ppe or access kit. thats how i used to do it as a teenager, you try sectioning a tree with one arm wrapped around it, once i got a rope and harness it was easy.

 

Surely thats a bit patronizing dont you think?

[Jon Lad]

I once worked for a bloke called Bruce Noble, one of the top eye surgeons in the north of England. We were reducing this huge ash which was overhanging his tennis court. It all had to be lowered and was quite awkward as there were other obstacles apart from the court and the fencing around it.

He was watching what we were doing and when he brought a brew out he said "That's a highly skilled job you do." I said "Well not compared to yours, if you do something wrong you could blind or kill someone". He replied "Yes, but if the climber does something wrong, he could kill one of you on the ground".

 

It really made me think, that for someone right at the top of what must be one of the most difficult specializations in one of the most difficult jobs - to think tree surgery is highly skilled, that says something about what we do.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I will end my participation in this thread with this

 

to anyone who feels this is an unskilled job... your probably right and you aint!

 

But the REST of us, well put us in the tree next door to you, and we will show the difference between your unskilled ability and ours!

 

Now stop this nonsense, arb is a highly skilled business, though the basics may come quick, I am a VERY skilled man, and NO ONE in here will tell me other wise. raspberries to you all!

 

I would like to see many of you knock the top 20-30ft out of a 100ft poplar flip it once so the butts ready for the out and have it land flat as a pancake without denting the lawn in a stiff breeze into a 30ft wide gap!

 

TONKAS!