Arborists are currently on the National Skills Needs List and with falling training enrolment numbers, employers are facing severe challenges in attracting skilled staff. The current qualifications have been identified as having structural barriers to entry, which make them exceptionally difficult to deliver.

Expert members of the Amenity Horticulture, Landscape, Conservation and Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) identified that enrolments in the arboriculture qualifications are unlikely to rise unless significant barriers to training are removed, both for learners and registered training organisations (RTOs). This project will review the existing arboriculture qualifications and 42 related units of competency to update the content to reflect current industry practice, remove significant and unnecessary barriers to training and assessment, and satisfy the Standards for Training Packages 2012.

Skills Impact and the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation and Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will manage this project, consistent with the 2012 Standards for Training Package Development.

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Project Scope

This project will review the existing six arboriculture qualifications and 42 related units of competency to update the content to reflect current industry practice, remove significant and unnecessary barriers to training and assessment, and satisfy the Standards for Training Packages 2012.

Arborists are currently on the National Skills Needs List and with falling training enrolment numbers, employers are facing severe challenges in attracting skilled staff. Some of the current qualifications have been identified as having structural barriers to entry. Some of the current units contain prerequisites and content which make them exceptionally difficult to deliver.

Scroll down to view the qualification and list of units that will be reviewed in this project. They will be incorporated in the AHC Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package.

Relevant Occupations

• Arborist, including:
  • Climbing Arborist
  • Elevated work platform (EWP) Arborist
  • Ground-based Arborist
• Supervising Arborist
• Consulting Arborists
• Senior Arborist

Key deliverables

Review of the six existing arboriculture qualifications and 42 existing arboriculture units of competency in the AHC Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package. The project may develop up to five new units and/or five new skill sets.

Timeline

September – October 2018
Initial scoping

October 2018 – January 2019
Development of draft qualifications, skill sets and units

February 2019 
Drafts available for broader consultation

March – April 2019
Validation of final drafts

April – May 2019 
Finalisation of Training Package components

May – June 2019
Independent Quality Assurance, and Edit and Equity review of Training Package components

June 2019
IRC consideration for sign-off and submission for endorsement

Project Team

The Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation and Land Management Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will oversee this project, as part of their responsibilities to support engagement with the sector, and to ensure projects meets industry stakeholder needs.

Qualification and units

Below is a list of current qualifications and units proposed for revision as part of this project. In preparation for the review of these components, we invite you to provide your input on the current qualifications and units. We would like to know what changes or updates should be made to the components so that they meet the skills needs of the industry.

To provide feedback, please use our feedback form. Alternatively, you can email Tom Vassallo [email protected].

Stakeholder Consultation Process

A list of key stakeholder organisations is being developed for this project. Skills Impact will ensure contact is made with each of these organisations during the development of this project to seek their involvement and their views on the draft qualifications and units.

If you are aware of an organisation that you think should be involved, please contact the project team to ensure they are contacted by us.

Of course, all and any interested industry participants are encouraged to engage in the consultation of this project, when the draft qualifications and units are available for feedback via this webpage and workshops that take place around Australia. Consultation is not limited to the organisations on this list. This list simply helps us to identify those organisations that, because of their industry role, size or specialty, are likely to have a key interest in the development and outcomes of this project.

Opportunities for stakeholder input

Stakeholder input is appreciated throughout the duration of this project. The documents will be drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts and their networks. Opportunities to provide targeted feedback will occur when the draft materials are made available, which is expected in October 2018, and again for validation of final drafts which is expected in February 2019. However, your feedback is welcomed at any time, and will help us in drafting the qualification and units. It is important that training provides a skilled and flexible workforce for the future. The qualification and units need to reflect real work experience. So if you work in the sector, Skills Impact would appreciate your input and help. Please feel free to register your interest for project updates and consultation opportunities by following the newsletter subscription link below. Alternatively, please feel free to contact the project manager, Tom Vassallo on 03 9321 3526 or [email protected].

Subject Matter Experts

Subject Matter Experts will be drawn on throughout this project to help review and draft the revised units, skill sets and qualifications.

If you are interested in applying to be a subject matter expert and are able to volunteer your time to this project, please email details of your expertise to [email protected].

Work has progressed in the review and redesign of the six existing Arboriculture qualifications and 42 related units of competency in the AHC Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package. This work is assisted by input from a Subject Matter Expert Working Group that includes representatives from various sectors of the Arboriculture industry across Australia.

Please feel free to register your interest to keep informed of project updates and when draft units are available for feedback.

Face-to-Face Consultation Workshops

Fri 8 Feb19, 2pm to 4pm – Launceston – register here

Mon 11 Feb 19, 2pm to 4pm – Melbourne – register here

Tue 12 Feb 19, 2pm to 4pm – Brisbane – register here

Wed 13 Feb 19, 2pm to 4pm – Sydney – register here

Thu 14 Feb 19, 2pm to 4pm – Canberra – register here

Tue 19 Feb 19, 1pm to 2.45pm – Darwin – register here

Wed 20 Feb 19, 1pm to 3pm – Perth – register here

Thu 21 Feb 19, 2pm to 4pm – Adelaide – register here

Consultation Webinar

25 Feb 19 10am to 11am – Webinar – register here

25 Feb 19 1pm to 2pm – Webinar – register here

Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft qualifications, units of competency and skill sets relating to arboriculture management. The documents were made available on this webpage for broad stakeholder review from 8 February – 11 March 2019.

In particular, feedback was requested on some of the major changes proposed, including:

• Significant redesign of the Certificate III and Diploma qualifications
• The Certificate IV in Arboriculture is proposed for deletion based on industry advice. There were no enrolments in the qualification in 2016 and only seven enrolments in 2017. It had five Arboriculture specific units with an AQF level 4 identifier in the code. Three of these units have been revised are now electives in the redesigned Certificate III of Arboriculture.
• Significant changes to many of the Arboriculture sector units listed in the Certificate III and Diploma qualifications, including the removal or prerequisite units
• The addition of a statement in some units (listed in the Certificate II and III qualifications) that requires the work described in the unit to be carried out according to industry standards. Using AHCARB307 Use arborist climbing techniques as an example –  “The arboriculture industry requires that all climbing work is undertaken according to current industry standards, including Minimum Industry Standard MIS305 Tree Climbing and other relevant Minimum Industry Standards” (Note – The MIS can be purchased from Arboriculture Australia).
• Two proposed new skill sets

Thank you to those who participated in the validation process for the final draft qualification, skill sets and units of competency for arboriculture. The final drafts were available on this webpage for feedback and comment from 26 April – 12 May 2019.

They have been revised to improve the accessibility of the qualifications and to better match job roles. The final draft qualification, skill sets and units that were available for industry validation are listed below.

The final drafts will shortly progress through to the Finalisation stage of the project which includes quality assurance of the documents and review and feedback from the State/Territory Training Authorities. They will then be forwarded to the Amenity Horticulture, Landscaping, Conservation & Land Management Industry Reference Committee for consideration and sign off, before being submitted to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) to consider and approve for publication on training.gov.au.

Validation  means checking and confirming that the documents are logical and factually accurate.

Download Summary of Feedback, Responses and Actions