Forestry and Arboriculture qualifications and training courses

Last Updated: 10 Aug 2022

Develop the knowledge and skills you need to work with trees and forests - from planting young trees and pruning older ones to monitoring the health of a whole woodland.

You'll learn at a College or with a training provider and gain practical experience that will give you an edge in the world of work.

UCAS tariff

Certificate in Land Based Services

Grade	Current Tariff points	New Tariff points
D*	70	28
D	60	24
M	40	16
P	20	8

Subsidiary Diploma in Land Based Services

Grade	Current Tariff points	New Tariff points
D*	140	56
D	120	48
M	80	32
P	40	16

Diploma in Land Based Services

Grade	Current Tariff points	New Tariff points
D*	280	112
D	240	96
M	160	64
P	80	32

Extended Diploma in Land Based Services

Grade	Current Tariff points	New Tariff points
D*	420	168
D	360	144
M	240	96
P	120	48

90- Credit Diploma in Land Based Services UCAS tariff

Grade	Current Tariff points	New Tariff points
D*	210	84
D	180	72
M	120	48
P	60	24

These countryside qualifications are for anyone interested in a career working with trees and forests. You may be just starting out, or taking a break from a job to get some valuable training.

You don't need any previous qualifications or experience to get started. To take a Level 2 or 3 qualification, you need to be 16 or over.

Available to deliver in the following:

England
Wales – please check QiW website for available funding
Scotland
Northern Ireland

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form.

General Information

What Is Involved In Studying This Course?

At Level 2, you'll get an introduction to important topics in forestry. You might choose things like identifying trees and shrubs or checking trees for health.

Depending on the size of qualification you choose, you might also do work experience and gain practical skills on the job.

At Level 3, you'll gain in-depth insight into the techniques and science of forestry. You might cover things like soil science and plant science, tree pests and diseases and the legal status of protected trees. You'll also gain plenty of practical experience in your choice of skills, from pruning trees to sampling trees for surveys.

You'll learn with your training provider - maybe through practical sessions, group discussions or assignments.

You'll be assessed on assignments, one for each unit you complete.

Which level is right for me?

Level 2
You may be new to forestry work or have some knowledge and basic skills. You want to develop your skills, perhaps to start work as a forest or arboricultural worker or prepare for further training.

Level 3
You may have some experience in forestry work or have gained your Level 2 qualification. You want to develop the skills to be a more senior worker or manager, or to prepare for higher-level training.

What Careers Can This Lead To?

A Certificate or Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture is designed to help you find work maintaining trees and forests - perhaps as a forest worker or forest officer.

Once you've completed the Level 2 qualification you can move on to Level 3.

If you have a current job you might be interested in a work-based qualification.

Level 2 or 3 qualifications in Work-based Forestry and Arboriculture.
... if you're delivering these qualifications:

Level 2
You may be new to forestry work or have some knowledge and basic skills. You want to develop your skills, perhaps to start work as a forest or arboricultural worker or prepare for further training.

Level 3
You may have some experience in forestry work or have gained your Level 2 qualification. You want to develop the skills to be a more senior worker or manager, or to prepare for higher-level training.

What Is Involved With Delivering This Course?

You will need qualified internal assessors. You can train internal members of staff or recruit specially.

You'll deliver these qualifications in a classroom environment and provide access to practical experience.

You'll need to provide your learners with a suitable learning environment and the resources they need to complete the practical and theoretical aspects of the qualification.

You might also want to cover general areas like functional skills and personal learning and thinking skills (PLTS) in your course design.

At Level 3, you will need to provide access to work experience.

You'll assess learners on assignments.

To find all the resource requirements, download the qualification handbook from the centre documents section.

Anyone can take these qualifications but you must make sure all learners can access the resources they need to complete them.

Level 2

This level is ideal if you are new to forestry work or have some knowledge and basic skills. You may want to develop your skills to start work as a forest worker or tree surgeon, or prepare for further training.

To earn an award, certificate or diploma, you must complete a range of mandatory and optional units. For a full list of units, download the qualification handbook from the centre documents section.

What Careers Can This Lead To?

A Certificate or Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture is designed to help you find work maintaining trees and forests - perhaps as a forest worker or forest officer.

Once you've completed the Level 2 qualification you can move on to Level 3.

If you have a current job you might be interested in a work-based qualification.

Level 2 Forestry and Arboriculture (0077-02)

Last Registration Date: 31 Aug 2026

Level 2 Certificate in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8552/9 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 15 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 90 - 90 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 150 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2028 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £124.60 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 2 Extended Certificate in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8587/6 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 30 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 180 - 180 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 300 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/12/2025 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £132.40 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 2 Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8718/6 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 60 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 360 - 360 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 600 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/12/2025 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £163.60 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3

One or more pathways within this qualification has been approved by the DfE to appear in the 2016 Performance Tables. To review the qualifications approved please click here.

This level is ideal if you have some experience in forestry work or have gained your Level 2 qualification. You may want to develop the skills to be a more senior worker or manager, or to prepare for higher-level training.

To earn these qualifications, you must complete a range of mandatory and optional units.

For a full list of units, download the qualification handbook from the centre documents section.

What Careers Can This Lead To?

A Certificate or Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture is designed to help you find work maintaining trees and forests - perhaps as a tree surgeon, forest worker or forest officer.

If you have a current job you might be interested in a work-based qualification.

Learners may progress to Higher Education as these qualifications have UCAS points.

Level 3 Forestry and Arboriculture (0077-03)

Last Registration Date: 31 Aug 2026

Level 3 Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8564/5 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 120 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 720 - 720 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 1200 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2029 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £210.40 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3 Certificate in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8719/8 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 30 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 180 - 180 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 300 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2029 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £132.40 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3 Extended Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8720/4 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 180 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 1080 - 1080 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 1800 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2029 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £265.00 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 500/8724/1 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 60 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 360 - 360 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 600 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2029 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £233.80 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Level 3 90-Credit Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture

Accreditation No: 600/5946/1 This is a reference number related to UK accreditation framework
Type: Credit based qualification This is categorisation to help define qualification attributes e.g. type of assessment
Credits: 90 Credits are a measure of the size of the qualification
Guided Learning Hours: 540 - 540 This is the average contact time a centre would typically commit
Total Qualification Time: 900 The total time for the qualification
Key Stage: Data unavailable This shows the equivalent Key Stage level.
Last Certification: 31/08/2029 This is the last date that a certificate can be issued
Qualification fees in the UK: £187.00 Our typical price is the one that is most often paid by a centre for a completed learner. Some prices are made up of multiple charging points so action like taking difference units or specialisms to complete and resitting assessments may mean the cost for some learners differs.

Here you can find all documents related to this suite of qualifications.

By clicking on the section headings below, you can access a variety of documents such as the qualification handbooks and assessment materials, Statements of Purpose, and recognition letters from industry and employers.

Some documents may be password protected. Passwords can be retrieved by logging in to Walled Garden and visiting the Administration section of the relevant qualification catalogue page.

Interested in delivering this qualification?

Find out more about how to become an approved City & Guilds centre or fill out our online customer application form.

0077 Level 2

Assessment materials

Centre documents

0077-02 L2 Certificate Extended Certificate and Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture Handbook v2-2 pdf 1 MB 22 Jul 2021

Forestry and Arboriculture (0077)