NPTC - Land-based Services

NPTC fund

Background

Since 2010, the NPTC Fund has been available for the benefit of the land-based sector and specifically to support the original NTPC Charitable objectives, being;

“the advancement of education and training by means of the establishment and/or administration of schemes of Proficiency Tests, Vocational Qualifications, Certificates of Competence, Certificates of Qualification and other such awards in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and other industries as the Charity shall from time to time decide”.

With the support and guidance from an Advisory Group, City & Guilds manages the NPTC Fund to support individuals and industry initiatives through a number of ways:

Bursaries: The NPTC Fund supports a number of bursaries to individuals for study and scholarships in the land-based sector. Some are available through the City & Guilds bursary programme to cover costs arising as a result of undertaking a City & Guilds land-based qualification:

Discover more about City & Guilds and the bursary programme >

The NPTC Fund also makes support available through the Helena Kennedy Foundation, to provide financial bursaries to individuals currently studying at a FE college or sixth form college and applying to undertake a higher education or higher level apprenticeship in a land-based subject:

Learn more about the NPTC fund scheme >

Grants: The NPTC Fund welcomes direct applications to provide individual grants items such as tools, materials and other similar minor items of expenditure provided that they are for use by the recipient as part of their land-based training. As a guide, the NPTC Fund is unlikely to support applications for support in this category that exceed £1000. However, applications will be considered on their individual merit.

Projects: The NPTC Fund welcomes direct applications to support projects and research where they further land based education and training, or help to inform industry on issues of the moment relating to skills development and vocational education in the land-based sector. As a guide, the NPTC Fund is unlikely to support applications for support in this category that exceed £50,000. However, applications will be considered on their individual merit and potential applicants interested in seeking more significant support are encouraged to contact the NPTC Fund Secretariat.

Previous projects the Fund has supported

Arboricultural Association

Applicant: Arboricultural Association (AA)

Project purpose: To support the development and authoring of an Industry Code of Practice for Tree Work at Height (ICoP).

Background to the project: The activities involved in arboricultural work in trees at height have significant health and safety implications. There was previously no over-arching guidance on this; those industry guides that were available were in need of revision.

Project outcome: Following technical consultation and reviews from key stakeholders throughout the industry, the final completed ICoP was published in February 2015 as a free PDF download from the AA website.

The ICOP sets out the legal framework, protocols and managerial guidance to the 'Responsible Person' and 'Competent Person' whose roles are pivotal in ensuring that this work is correctly and adequately planned and carried out to recognised industry standards.

The ICoP has been well received by industry and is now being used as the major reference work for a series of Technical Guides aimed at the practicing arborist. In addition, the Spanish Arboricultural Association (AEA) requested the rights to translate the ICoP into Spanish and there has been other international interest.