10 week Tree Surgery Commercial Course

[Kedi100]

Hi, I am new to the Forum and have a question regarding Training to become a Tree Surgeon. I am looking at doing a 10 week course at Otley College, my local Agricultural and Horticultural College and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some idea as to how worthwhile this course would be in helping me to gain employment once I have successfully completed it or is it a waste of time and money (£1200)? From the course I would gain NPTC Certificates CS30, CS31, CS38, CS39 and First Aid at work certificate and come away with a Level 2 Qualification. All practical work is done in a local Forrest and the course covers Theory of Tree Biology, pests and diseases, tree identification, tree hazard assessment and Ecology. I am concerned that an Employer would not take me on due to lack of experience on the job and I am all to aware that you can't beat experience. If anyone can give me some advise it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kev

 

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[Marc Lewis]

Sounds like a good little course to get you starting at a reasonable price too. As you know and have stated, experience is very important in most lines of work, especially arboriculture. With these certs behind you, you should find it easier to find an employer who is willing to take you on and train/give you experience. We all have to start somewhere.

 

I wish you the very best of luck.

[KingoftheRing]

That does sound like a great course for the money. I did a two year course and came away with only one or two more NPTC certificates.

[Kedi100]

Thanks for taking the time to read my thread and feedback on it guys, really appreciate it. I have always wanted to become a Tree Surgeon as I love being outdoors in all weathers and I like physically challenging myself. This course looks to be about my best way of getting into the industry from the research I've done but when I heard about this forum I thought this has to be a great place to get advice and info from guys doing the job with a lot of experience.

[Paul Smith]

Otley is pumping out kids with no further experience. It's a good course but be prepared to get a reality check when you've done it. I get 1 or 2 people a month asking for jobs from Otley. You can't give everybody a chance!

[Andy Gentle]

The course sounds ok to get you the tickets and basic knowledge but as you have already heard there is no substitute for expererience. As an employer I would pay you a bit more than somebody without any tickets and would also be much more inclined to take you on than a person with no tickets. However until you became more experienced which would probably take around a year I would treat you much the same as a trainee. That said all people are different and some take to this industry/job far more naturally than others. Also attitude and ability count as much as a set of tickets!

I am not far from Otley and have taken people on from there in the past, PM me if you would like to chat more.

[Andy Collins]

Ditto what Paul and Andy have said, theyre churning out more and more student to an already saturated Market. Not the colleges fault, they have their own agenda to meet. I would suggest looking to companies like BTS locally, you can get experience and further training, and they are possibly the largest employer in East Anglia, covering both the private and utilities sector. So by all means get in the 10weeker, but have you got any other strings to your bow, some unique selling point that will make you stand out above the competition, if so use that to your advantage. good luck

[Kedi100]

Again thanks everyone for the feedback. It's a big help. With regards to any other strings to my bow, I have served a 4 year Apprenticeship as a car mechanic in a main dealer where I have been for over 13 years now, I am a first Aider, MOT tester, Windscreen Repairer and Tracker installer. I know this means nothing regards becoming a Tree Surgeon but it shows dedication and willingness to train and progress if anything. Now your probably wondering why I want a career change but it is simply because I no longer want to work on cars, there is nothing challenging about the job anymore and no i get no job satisfaction plus i hate being stuck indoors. I love the outdoors, adventure and challenges it offers and I just have a passion for the countryside and nature. Before I left school, Tree Surgery was what I wanted to do but I was steered down the mechanic route but I'm only 29 and have no ties so figure now is the time to retrain and do what I'd really like to do. It's not all about money, happiness in a job is important to me :-)

[Chris Sheppard]

Again thanks everyone for the feedback. It's a big help. With regards to any other strings to my bow, I have served a 4 year Apprenticeship as a car mechanic in a main dealer where I have been for over 13 years now, I am a first Aider, MOT tester, Windscreen Repairer and Tracker installer. I know this means nothing regards becoming a Tree Surgeon but it shows dedication and willingness to train and progress if anything. Now your probably wondering why I want a career change but it is simply because I no longer want to work on cars, there is nothing challenging about the job anymore and no i get no job satisfaction plus i hate being stuck indoors. I love the outdoors, adventure and challenges it offers and I just have a passion for the countryside and nature. Before I left school, Tree Surgery was what I wanted to do but I was steered down the mechanic route but I'm only 29 and have no ties so figure now is the time to retrain and do what I'd really like to do. It's not all about money, happiness in a job is important to me :-)

 

Rather than specifically tree surgery, if you want to get out in the countryside, why not look more into Forestry. Rural work rather than in town working in peoples bak gardens, usually more chance of decent saw time, and (round us anyway) there's more of that sort of work about than arb.

 

Plus, it'll get you into a good mindset for working too - generally a good woodsman can become a good groundie, but not as often the other way round.

[ollieollie]

where are you based??