Tree Surgeon Career Got Ade Out Of The Woods - Career - Nairaland
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| Tree Surgeon Career Got Ade Out Of The Woods by Recognise: 9:00am On May 31, 2009 |
[size=14pt]Tree surgeon career got Ade out of the woods[/size] Facing unemployment for the first time in his life, after 26 solid years as a tiler, Adrian Ross didn’t know where to turn. The building trade was dying around him and he had a young family to provide for. “There was nothing out there and I felt completely useless.” But just five months later the 42-year-old, has turned it all around. Despite never having climbed a tree in his life and certainly having no ambitions in that line, he has a job with a future as a trainee tree surgeon. In these early days of training (he started in April), Adrian’s feet are still firmly on the ground, shredding branches and boughs while his more experienced colleagues head aloft. “It’s a noisy business,” he says. But in the next year, Adrian, from near Ipswich, Suffolk, will learn to master a chainsaw and the art of climbing. He’ll also gain skills and internationally-recognised qualifications. “I’ve already done a bit of climbing – some in a harness and some in a cherry picker up to 60ft. It’s strange being so high up looking across flat Suffolk but great, too. I can see myself coming to love it.” Adrian’s never had a passion for trees although he’s rapidly coming to respect them – especially the grand old ones. “There’s a lot to learn and I have to be honest and say that, at my age, I find it hard sometimes. At the moment I’m learning tree recognition – the difference between a silver birch and a beech. It’s tricky.” But Adrian’s gradually regaining his self-confidence after losing his job at Christmas. “The actual getting up to go to work and earning a living has brought that back,” he says. His self-esteem was almost at zero when Adrian had to accept he could no longer work as a tiler. “From the day I left school and did my apprenticeship I had always worked as a sub-contractor on projects round the world and nearer home.” Last year, he noticed it was getting harder to find work. “The companies stopped hiring. Just before Christmas I’d made a load of calls and every one said no. “I finally admitted defeat.” At first he thought about going out on his own but felt it was too risky. “We have two young sons, Samuel, five, and Louis, 18 months, and a mortgage. I need a steady income.” So for the first time in his adult life Adrian was out of work. “I had to draw Jobseeker’s Allowance for two soul-destroying months. As a tiler I’d always earned a fair amount but there I was on £50 a week.” Even the process of looking for work was hard. “It’s all done on computers. Every job I searched for in the building trade was gone – the industry had died.” But a friend of Adrian’s wife Sharon worked for a local company BTS (www.btsgroupuk.com) which specialises in arboriculture – the care of trees. Employing some 300 staff, BTS operates and manage tree teams, linesmen and teams in the construction and maintenance of overhead power lines. “I knew of them but had never given it a thought. I got in touch.” Seeing Adrian’s determination to work, and ignoring the fact that he was older than the average trainee, they hired him. “They could see I was serious and wouldn’t give up easily.” Adrian still can’t quite believe what he’s doing. “I find it very odd to be learning a new profession. But the guys and the training are fantastic, and make it much easier. So far, I’ve been lucky with the weather – I’m enjoying all the fresh air.” [center][img]http:///no9t8n[/img][/center] One downside, however, is the cut in salary. “I had it good for all those years and yes, I’ve had to take a big pay cut. But I feel lucky not to be facing the uncertainty of being self-employed in a dead industry.” / For information on BTS or retraining as a tree surgeon or arboriculturist, visit the careers section at www.btsgroupuk.com ADRIAN’S TIPS FOR retraining Be prepared to look at anything – you don’t know how you’ll find it until you’ve tried. Don’t be afraid of new things. With proper training you’ll be fine. Accept that your confidence will take a knock but try to do any work at all just to keep going. Don’t give up searching. Ask everyone you know for ideas. Who knows where the answer lies? for SOURCE: Click here |
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