This course provides practical training in the skills and knowledge essential for:

• Maintenance and management of trees
• Tree climbing and access
• Tree pruning and dismantling
• Transplanting of trees
• Assessment of tree health
• Provision of advice on trees.
• The training provides a strong focus on the development of practical skills. To this end many tree work projects are carried out.

Students at NMIT's Fairfield campus will be trained in a purpose-built arboriculture facility. NMIT's arboriculture equipment includes a travel tower, stump grinders and full complement of climbing equipment for each participant. Arboriculture equipment is stored in specially constructed trailers allowing equipment to be easily taken to any site where tree work training is to take place. In addition there is a plant identification laboratory, a PC laboratory, a soils laboratory plant tissue culture and a well-resourced library.

Skills Recognition - Exemptions/Transfers:
Students enrolling in these courses who have completed studies at other institutions should discuss the possibility of being exempted from related units in this course. If a student can demonstrate a full practical and theoretical of the unit from their work then they may discuss the option of being assessed for this in their workplace. Students are eligible for Skills Recognition.

Course Outline:
The Arboriculture stream of the Certificate II in Horticulture (Arboriculture) requires successful completion of 16 units of competency selected from the Horticultural Training Package.

NMIT, in consultation with industry, has constructed courses that satisfy these packaging rules and are tailored to the requirements of industry.
Assessment Methods

Competency based course assessment is based on students' abilities to achieve unit outcomes. There is the opportunity for workplace delivery and assessment of competencies.

Subject Areas of Training:

• Occupational health & safety
• Rope & harness tree climbing
• Tree pruning - both by rope & harness & by work platform (travel tower)
• Limits of approach - arboricultural operations around electrical conductors
• Work platform operation
• Traffic management
• Chainsaw operations & maintenance
• Small tree falling operations
• Stump removal operations
• Tree identification.