Do students learn any thing?

[Stephen Blair]

it is all in the individual, some folk are just useless, you can offer them money, early finishes it doesnt matter, lazy is lazy in my book. this job isnt exactly rocket science, knowing some big long lattin names may help impress someone on paper but it doesnt help you drag a nasty ass big branch up a slippy banking or give you the drive to slog on day after day in the rain. we are woodcutters plain and simple, you have to get work hardened to survive in any job, especially this one. but it is possible to have a very good knowledge of your job and carry out the physical side of it too, some can some cant.

[Rob D]

Yes ditto the above in full Stevie.... but I still found all the NPTC courses really good and it started me off nicely.... this was in the day it was £795-00 to do from cross cut and maintenance through to climbing with a saw.

 

My nickname was 'Nervous Nerris' courtesy of Tony Darbyshire (instructor) because I had the tendency of sh*ting my pants whenever I had to go near a tree !!

 

Of course I'm a big tough tree surgen now so don't like to talk too much about it!!

[Lancstree]

We had a lad work with us that wanted to do an ND in computing but his mum wanted him to do tree work to make a man of him!

[Stephen Blair]

sounds like she should be giving her son support rather than trying to make something of him that maybe he doesnt want to be.

[G00MER]

I my opinion no, students don't learn anything... well not the right things anyway.

 

I went to Moreton Morrell to do an arb HND nearly four years ago and i really didn't think much of the course. The trouble was there was no way near enough emphasis on trees! Instead half the course was either business related or to be honest just pointless. I had to sit through lessons showing me how to do my accounts, lay out a letter, marketing, and how to use a computer, and these lessons literally made up half the course!

I had no practical lessons, never went near a chainsaw, and my only intruction on how to actually do tree work was a copy of BS3998.

 

If i hadn't been fortunate enough to find part time work with a local tree surgeon on my days off college i'm not sure i would have even known how to tie a bowline!

 

 

ooo i just lost my arbtalk virginity!

[MattyF]

The thing that really annoys me about this job is i have seen the best clmbers with probably some of the best pruning knowledge give up because some turd comes out of college with all his certs and is worth more to keep the company arb approved........hmmm well i will say i have not had in 15 years one certified climber i have been happy with,not to say they have all been bad but the best i have seen have learnt from experience and watching from nature...ie how a tree dies back if watched imo is how a tree should be reduced.

[Gary.ric]

gotta say, when i first looked into this about a year ago i contacted everyone i could find to try and get work but got told i need tickets even just the cs30 if i wanted to start.

i was 25 and had worked enough to know you learn by working, having said that i was also skint! the prices for tickets and assessments are pretty hefty especially if you got rent, bills etc, if i were younger(can't believe im saying that im 26 dammit!) and could have gone to college for free like a lot of people can then i don't think that would be such a bad option.

i think if you are lucky enough to find an employer who will put a bit of time and possibly money behind you then you're on your way, i ended up forking out a whole lotta cash doing 10 weeks (varying opinions there im sure!) and gaining my tickets, luckily i found a company willing to train me in the big bad ways of work so now i am learning to be a tree surgeon where you should learn: in the work place up trees!!

 

just a thought here but there were a lot students on the FT courses at college because it was 'further education' and free pretty much. i wonder what percentage of ND/college students actually go into the industry?

[Theocus]

It would be interesting to see the volume of students progressing into the industry and others that dont.

It is the classic statement us aged/older types say "if i knew then what i know now i would do this differently" etc etc. It is frustrating and at the same time difficult to steer people in the right direction and give them a chance. College can be (not always) the easy option to take but just look at the amount of unemployed grads at the moment. Its all about tickets and experience, now is the golden age where smaller scale employers are willing to take on a slightly less experienced people who may cost less to pay as an extra groundy if they are willing to put in as it were! Experience is there to be had but they must make the first steps and arrive with the correct attitude.

 

I took on my groundy with good faith with his college course etc, but this week in addition to his year course we will be learning the running bowline and why even the smallest branches should be lowered using the portawrap and not your bare hands followed by first aid for minor burns!!!!!!!

[ben lightfoot]

I my opinion no, students don't learn anything... well not the right things anyway.

 

I went to Moreton Morrell to do an arb HND nearly four years ago and i really didn't think much of the course. The trouble was there was no way near enough emphasis on trees! Instead half the course was either business related or to be honest just pointless. I had to sit through lessons showing me how to do my accounts, lay out a letter, marketing, and how to use a computer, and these lessons literally made up half the course!

I had no practical lessons, never went near a chainsaw, and my only intruction on how to actually do tree work was a copy of BS3998.

 

If i hadn't been fortunate enough to find part time work with a local tree surgeon on my days off college i'm not sure i would have even known how to tie a bowline!

 

 

ooo i just lost my arbtalk virginity!

 

when looking to do the HND i thought it would have been mentioned to you that there was little or no practical, i believe that even in the ND practical is still quite limited considering its a two year course. I have to say its only through what i heard as having only completed the NC and now gradually getting through the tech cert (resits in dec)

 

I took my brother out for a climb the other week to see what he made of it all as he might be after a career change but then i thought you really need the get up and go for this job even wet cold hot what ever the weather i find you have to be quite self motivated.

[peter_t]

i just finished two years at college and the real problem is that at best only two thirds of the class want to learn. the other third just want to piss about and disrupt which stops any learning going on. the main reason they even bothered to go to college was because if they didn’t they would be hassled at home by their parents. but not only were we missing out in lessons but because there was too much dicking about we were never trusted so we missed out on many outing and some climbing competitions because the tutors where too embarrassed to take us!

 

this could have been easily solved by throwing the unwanted guys out but the college wouldn’t because they would miss out on the £10000 which we where apparently each worth:thumbdown:

 

btw, did the courses the 'clueless' students go on include work experience? because if mine didn’t have one day a weeks experience i would be totally clueless when it comes to the real world

 

pete