Bringing talented young climbers to arboriculture

moss

moss

Been here much more than a while
Location
Carlisle, Massachusetts, U.S.
For the last three years I've been running rec climbs for inner city teens in Boston parks. I'm seeing some very promising young climbers. I'm frustrated though because I don't have a pipeline for them to become involved in arboriculture as a career option.

Thoughts? Thanks!
-moss
 
Its a tough story that I deal with in Detroit. You can teach them to climb, but then you also need to teach them to drive, to get to work, handle money, all in the while they have to deal with insane family issues that make it hard for them to get to a job on time and consistently. There has to be some kind of partnership with an organization that can mentor these kids through the trials of work, an experience a lot of inner city kids have no exposure to. Try to contact a local non-profit career training center to partner or that funnel kids to you that are already on track to working.
 
Good comments, thanks. Most of these kids have issues, family or otherwise, but are in a decent support network now. They are working in the parks in the summer and attending high school, so they understand getting to work on time and doing the work. I probably need to make contacts with ag/arb schools to explore options for continuing their education towards the career after high school.
-moss
 
In Ontario, Canada, there is an arborist apprenticeship program, offered thru the Ministry of Training,Colleges & Universities. The trainee has to be sponsered by a company and he is paid by EI (employment insurance) while he goes to the 24 weeks of school. They can do some of the work hours as a part of their co-op credits in high school. I believe its about 6000 hrs of work with 2 12 weeks of classroom study. it's a way to work and earn for a lot of young people.
 
I was involved in a vocational program in high school. It was more geared toward forestry but it is where I was introduced to climbing and arboriculture. The program was part of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Another place where you could find some support is through your state university cooperative extension foresty program.
 
We run a paid training program here in NYC dealing with disconnected youth. Its called Million Trees Training Program. We train them for 7 months in 3 fields, one of them being Arboriculture. Its a great chance for us to open doors and spread the word!

Check it out

NY Times Article

NY Time video
 
[ QUOTE ]
Moss

Send me a PM, we are always looking for interns that are legal age to work in MA.....16 with a work permit I believe?

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Bull, PM to come.
-moss
 
Acrt inc do lot of these training all over the country. This is their website incase: www.acrtinc.com They also have 5 Job Corps program out there to train young men and women to get their Certified Tree Worker/Climber Specialist.

Angell JC
Yachats Or

Colconda JC
IL

Northland JC
Vergeness VT

Ouachita JC
Hot Springs AR

Pine Knot JC
KY

All of their instructor are Certified Arborist/Climber Specialist.
 
We have worked with several classes from the Million Trees Training Program here in Central Park. We have also hired several graduates to work in the park. It is definitely a good model for any program looking to bring urban youth into tree care and arboriculture.

Josh
 
[ QUOTE ]
We have worked with several classes from the Million Trees Training Program here in Central Park. We have also hired several graduates to work in the park. It is definitely a good model for any program looking to bring urban youth into tree care and arboriculture.

Josh

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Josh,

We enjoyed every moment in Central Park, and very excited to collaborate with you again this upcoming class.

Francisco
 
I ran job search programs that were attached to skills training for at risk youth in Toronto and as Treebing pointed out they need to have a "life skills" component that deals with time management, conflict resolution, effective communications in a business/work setting, money handling/banking/budgeting and, counseling for dealing with their home situation. All that so they can actually deliver to an employer the technical skills they acquire.

The apprenticeship program is a good option but without the aforementioned skills a person would have a difficult time completed the program. I went through the Ontario program and it is a real challenge to complete given the nonsense one is faced with dealing with the government funder.


Moss, you may want to try to contact a job developer or job search program to pipeline your people through. They have the tools to connect with employers.
 
mabon said:
Acrt inc do lot of these training all over the country. This is their website incase: www.acrtinc.com They also have 5 Job Corps program out there to train young men and women to get their Certified Tree Worker/Climber Specialist.

Angell JC
Yachats Or

Colconda JC
IL

Northland JC
Vergeness VT

Ouachita JC
Hot Springs AR

Pine Knot JC
KY

All of their instructor are Certified Arborist/Climber Specialist.
Click to expand...
A couple of the ACRT Job Corps are still operating, however, most of our training sessions are now done with a traveling instructor, on site, for companies or groups of companies. We also have multiple classes throughout the year at our school in Akron, OH.
(I know it's an old thread, just thought you'd appreciate the update)
 
Moss, let's get these kids to some local and regional TCC's. I could think of a ton of things they could be inspired by there. Even just rubbing elbows.

Also, there are a few other extra curricular activities like Saluting Branches they could get involved with.

It's great your doing this. PM me any time and we can bounce ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You know what else would work really well. Is to get some tech school, universities to have "arborist ambassadors". I am a graduate of the Stockbridge School and I have had some great experience both in my education and the companies I worked for afterwards. I would like to reach out to some of these students and help educate them to what is next after high school, and then what careers are available to them. This would be in partnership with the schools. I would represent my area and then other companies could represent their areas.
By representing our area we would invite the kids to our companies and show them what we do for work, tell them our story. Then, the school would host a student fair. This would allow the students to get a good tour of the school, attend a class or two, and meet some professors. The arborist ambassadors would also be their the same day to support the school, and the kids attending. Just an idea. I think more kids need to be pushed toward their schools that offer a very in-depth eduction on arboriculture.
One more thing: The arborist ambassador would really try to connect to the high schools to get kids exposed to the idea of a career in the green industry. You can make a pretty decent living in this industry and it starts with a proper education and expose to good mentors who understand all that is uninvolved with developing young talent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom