In October we started a mission to find out more about how word travels about careers in Arb.

One of the things that came up at APF in September was that there don't seem to be enough people coming into Arboriculture in general, so we decided to ask some questions. I made a couple of questionnaires, one on Arbtalk and one on Instagram, which was also shared on Facebook.

The sample isn't very large, just 50 people, but the findings were interesting...

The question asked was: How did you find out about a career in arb? And the possible answers were family/friend, careers advice, a stranger, the internet or 'other'.

The standout finding is, I think, that no one seems to hear about arb through careers advice and most people hear about it because they know someone who is in the industry.

Is this a problem or an opportunity? It's probably both.

Not everyone wants to work outdoors. Tree work can be physically tough and certainly requires the ability to cope with most weathers, whether from up a tree or underneath one. It makes sense that people who are in arb and enjoy it are the best ambassadors for it.

That said are we missing an opportunity to spread the word outside the world of trees?

How could we tell more young people about this career? And who should we even tell?

People can be so kind, and the arborists of Instagram are no exception. While we desperately encouraged people to answer our questionnaire one arborist, George Husher, jumped in and sent us the survey results from her dissertation in 2018. It's a huge piece of work, with respondents from all over the world, and throws up some interesting results.

One that particularly grabbed me was about roles prior to coming into arb:

Out of the 423 respondents 306 had worked in other roles before coming into arboriculture. That seems a very high number. It may be that the outdoor industries attract a higher proportion of transient workers, which is probably true, but if people can come into it at any time, then that's an opportunity too. Attracting the right people and creating a working environment which is likely to keep them interested in arboriculture could be part of the solution.

What do you think?

Do you have different insights or suggestions as to how we can promote arb careers together?

We'd love to have some open discussion around this and learn what we can do to help. Either catch us on Linkedin, Instagram or Arbtalk or email us at admin@ctcrecruitment.co.uk to share your views.

Thanks! Kate and Beccy

 Our APF 2022 Arb Competition is now closed - winners will be announced soon!

Two Arb prizes to be won – Which one is for you?

• We want to help the aspiring Arborist who is aiming to get off the tools and head into their first technical role - working with trees, but from the ground.
• We know from many years in the industry talking to arb employers that the PTI is the course that helps consolidate a climbing Arborists’ CV
• The PTI (Professional Tree Inspector) is a 3-day course which is respected throughout the industry. In combination with a Level 3 in Arboriculture it gets you the leg up to an interview for a technical post - from climber to tree surveyor/tree officer and beyond.

Now’s not the time? Not sure whether you’re ready? Or already have a PTI? Never fear – we are also offering a one-day Fungi course – another useful arb qualification.

The prizes are being offered by Tree Life in collaboration with us and they are both courses which will support Arborists on their career path and other technical positions.

For a chance to WIN either a Professional Tree Inspector course or a Fungi Recognition and Response course Click here and follow the instructions

You can also enter by dropping us a line at admin@ctcrecruitment.co.uk, following and messaging us on Instagram or LinkedIn, or popping by Stand D11c at APF2022 and saying hello. That’s all!

Once we’ve said hello back and had a short conversation, we’ll pop your name in the pot and you’ll be in with a chance to win.

*Small print: The course financial values are £450+vat and £120+vat respectively but it’s the value to a career we’re interested in. There is no cash alternative – the winners will be decided by Tree Life and CTC Recruitment and the judge’s decision is final. We’re doing this to spread the word; start conversations; support Arb careers and the industry and hope you’ll approach the competition in the spirit intended – thanks.

Links for further exploration:

CTC Recruitment Ltd

Tree Life AC Ltd

Professional Tree Inspector course (PTI)

Fungi 'recognition & response' 1 Day Course