News Release – 14 December 2015

Government approval has been granted to two brand new Trailblazer apprenticeship standards which are set to benefit employers in the forestry and arboriculture sector.

The Arborist and Forest Operative apprenticeship standards were developed over the past 12 months through a comprehensive consultation and hundreds of hours of input from over 40 organisations, encompassing the full spectrum of the industries involved. They have now been approved at Westminster and lead the way in the government’s drive for apprenticeship reform in England. 

Trailblazer apprenticeships are led by employers for employers and aim to ensure apprenticeships are tailored to the needs of industry. The standards list the key skills, knowledge and behaviours apprentices should achieve in order to complete their apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship programmes, based on these standards, will give employers the confidence that their apprenticeswill develop the skills they need to make meaningful contribution to their company.

Timothy Leavers of Euroforest Limited commented, ‘The dual pathway forest operative standard provides specific training in the two main forestry disciplines of establishment and harvesting, allowing an employer to tailor their training to the company’s core business, and provide a clear focus for the apprentice.’

Simon Rotheram of Beechwood Trees and Landscapes Ltd added, ‘We are pleased to see that the time and effort put in by a number of companies and individuals is coming to fruition. This hard work has formed an apprenticeship for arboriculture that will provide individuals with the training necessary to make them a useful asset to the industry and their employers…exciting times for the development of budding arborists are ahead.’

The final two standards, Horticulture and Landscape Operative plus Horticulture and Landscape Supervisor have recently been submitted into the government approvals process. 

The next stage of the process has already commenced and assessment plans are being written for each occupation. These are employers’ opportunity to explain how to test the apprentice’s expertise. Draft plans were shared with 40 training and assessment providers during a meeting at the end of September. The valuable insights from this meeting will be discussed by the industries involved over the next two months and plans devised accordingly. It is hoped that delivery of the new apprenticeships will begin in the middle o fnext year.  

Groups of employers (trailblazers) have been leading the way in carrying out the changes to apprenticeships in England.  The arboriculture, forestry, horticulture & landscape industries became involved in 2014 and gained government approval to develop apprenticeships in four occupations at the end of that year. The lead employer for the trailblazer is Bartlett Tree Experts, who are also heading up the arboriculture working group. The Duchy of Cornwall are leading for the forestry industry and Ground Control for horticulture and landscape.