It is interesting that the term 'needs' has been mentioned. When I was thinking about the idea of a grading scheme some 5 years ago I came to the conclusion that we all need to be recognised for the skills we have. I am not an academic and exams are a real struggle for me, that said I have managed to make it through several to now have a reasonable 'academic' CV but that does not in anyway reflect the level of 'experience' I have in the field. That said this is still and industry, at least at the practitioner level and also, but perhaps to a lesser degree at the professional level, (I use these terms loosely to differentiate those who do and those who talk about it) that respects experience over academic qualifications. The problem we have as practitioners is how we prove that experience and measure it. Even in the courts my practical experience carries as much weight as chartered status.
The more that I have helped tree businesses tackle the challenges of H&S compliance and third party accreditations over the past 10 years the more I realised that we really need some way of differentiating between the well qualified new entrant and the well qualified old hand. Equally we also need to find a way of recognising the 'soft' skills derived over the years such as customer liaison, supervision etc. Furthermore we needed to the attend to the motivational needs of practical arborists as they progress in the industry.
Hence the concept of a stepwise grading system that recognises specific task experience, time served and training/qualifications. Take this a step further we are a fragmented industry that struggles to be recognised professionally in many ways because we are an industry of individuals or micro businesses. Enter the concept of a national register of INDIVIDUAL operators that will at least help to recognise our skill levels as well as unify it under a single register (albeit that is perhaps like herding cats). We all suffer from the jobbing tree hacker but this will hopefully raise the bar and enable a more unified industry to promote itself more effectively.
Now here for me is the key, this is about meeting individual needs but in so doing meeting the needs of businesses, clients and other interested parties. Pie in the sky, perhaps but it is worth a try.....we just need industry backing a some money to roll it out.
I see the many posts about this topic and I know I have not answered all the questions but hopefully some. I will try to respond to other queries in a more concise manner.
