The arboriculture route T Level is an excellent grounding in the requirements for working in the sector.
You will acquire both the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills and behaviours to gain employment or go on to Higher Education.
Please note that you must be aged 16 - 18 years old when you start a T Level qualification.
The Arboriculture specialism focusses on trees and their management in a more urban setting, alongside elements of business, supply chain and legislation among other vital underpinning knowledge.
The more practical side of this specialism is the knowledge and skills gained in machinery, ground and aerial chainsaw practice and of course climbing.
You will gain knowledge, skills and behaviours that will give you occupational competencies so that you are ready for the industry, from plant biology through to how to setup and run your own business!
Alongside your studies you will also need to complete a minimum of 315 hours of industry placement across the two year program.
You will be required to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for this course. For a full list of equipment required click here.
The course is likely to be run over a four day week basis. This will include a full day's practical and then three days theoretical.
There will be guest speakers, visits, demonstrations and a field trip at the end of your second year.
Assessment for this T Level will be through a combination of exams, set-projects and gathering evidence for your portfolio.
The portfolio will cover both practical observation/ professional discussion and some theoretical elements.
The Arboriculture T Level will enable you to enter the industry with the occupational competencies required to be a confident professional as a trainee climber, working towards a supervisory role.
Successful completion of the T Level will gain you UCAS points which can be used to gain entry into Higher Education or a Higher Apprenticeship (Level 4 or Level 6). Ultimately you will be looking at careers such as a Tree Officer.
You will need five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English, maths and a science.
There will be an interview for entry on to the T Level which will include an interview with your Industry Placement.
T Levels are brand new qualifications that are equivalent to three A-Levels. We will support you to find a suitable company to complete your industry placement.
Specific details of the structure of the course and study mode are subject to change as we finalise the details of the new course with the Awarding Body.
As with all of our courses in Arboriculture and/or Forestry sustainability is at the core of the industry and therefore our teaching must reflect this.
Social, economic and environmental factors are central to woodland and tree management, known as the three pillars of forestry. These have sustainability at the core to ensure that we have trees, woodlands and forests for the future.
