Employer Perspectives on Arboriculture Education

Sample

The target population consisted of all individuals of the study area responsible for hiring arborists and urban foresters. The public sector sample consisted of 171 municipalities. This included all cities with a population greater than 25,000 and smaller cities employing city planners or planning directors as listed in each state’s Municipal Directory. The assumption in both cases was that cities included in the sample employ tree-care personnel.

The private sector portion of the sample consisted of 98 tree-care firms. Firms were selected from the Yellow Page section of telephone books for each city in the study area with a population greater than 25,000. The sample included all eligible tree-care firms from every state except Colorado. Twenty-five of 81 total tree-care firms were drawn at random from Colorado. This resulted in a 31 % sample of all firms in Colorado cities with a population larger than 25,000.

Respondents

Respondents received a two-page questionnaire, letter of transmittal, and return envelope. Two follow-up letters were also sent to non-respondents. To clarify the distinction between arborists and urban foresters, the following definition appeared at the top of each questionnaire: Arborists are defined as individuals responsible for hands-on tree care and maintenance. Urban foresters are more directly responsible for the planning and management of the community or urban forest (i. e. a city forester).

Of the 269 questionnaires mailed out, 175 or 65% were returned. Eighteen questionnaires were returned undeliverable. The response rate of those receiving questionnaires was 70%. The public sector response rate was 82.5% and the private sector response rate was 42.5%. Figure 1 shows the number of public and private sector respondents by city size.

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Figure 1.

Number of public and private sector respondents by city size.

Minimum level of training

Examination of Andresen’s (1980) inventory of North American arboriculture and urban forestry programs suggests that there is a wide range of curriculum options available at present. He reports that there are currently twelve undergraduate and two graduate curricula in arboriculture. Undergraduate programs are primarily 4-year options within ornamental horticulture departments.

Two-year technical programs are also available. Coufal (1979) conducted a survey of 69 two-year forest technician schools and found a total enrollment of 3,600 students. He noted that technicians were having greater success in finding employment than baccalaureate graduates (4-year degree). Andresen surveyed 54 selected schools offering forest technology and found that 10 arboriculture and related programs or options were underway. Many others offer courses in arboriculture/vegetation management.

Andresen’s survey results indicate that there are currently eighteen undergraduate and nine graduate curricula in North American urban forestry. Undergraduate programs are usually associated with forestry departments and are 4-year programs.

Table 1 shows combined public and private sector response to the question, “What minimum level of academic training do you think a program graduate should have to qualify for current and anticipated job openings in arboriculture and urban forestry?”

Half of the respondents state that a two-year technical degree is the minimum necessary for students preparing to be arborists. Approximately half of the respondents report that students preparing for jobs as urban foresters need a minimum of four years academic training.

Field experience is widely recognized as an essential component of the arboriculture/urban forestry educational experience. Duration of field experience varies with programs and there is little documentation on what employers consider to be a desirable amount of field experience. Table 2 shows the respondents’ attitudes to the question, “What minimum level of school supervised field experience do you think a program graduate should have to qualify for current and anticipated job openings in arboriculture and urban forestry?”

Seventy-six percent of the respondents believe that students in arboriculture should receive over six months of field experience, and 33% indicate that more than nine months is necessary. Employers report that students preparing for jobs as urban foresters should spend only slightly less time gaining field experience than should future arborists.

Necessary skills

Academic programs and specific courses in arboriculture and urban forestry should teach students the skills they need to obtain employment and function in a professional manner. To determine what skills employers deem most important for graduates to acquire, the following question was asked, “Which of the following skills do you feel a graduate of an arboriculture and urban forestry program should have in order to be adequately prepared to pursue a career?” Respondents checked those skills applicable for an arborist and urban forester from a list of 38 skills. Space was provided so that other skills not included on the list could be written in.

Table 3 provides a rank ordering of skills thought necessary for graduating arborists about to enter the job market. Because employers from both the private and public sector hire arborists, skills are ranked separately for each sector. The percentage of respondents selecting each skill is shown in parentheses.

Differences exist between private and public sector responses regarding the importance of certain skills for arborists. A larger percentage of private sector employers regard tree surgery, accounting, cabling and bracing, public speaking, and business law skills as necessary than do public sector respondents. However, a larger percentage of public sector employers regard knowledge of irrigation systems, landscape design, dendrology, tree inventory techniques, and plant ecology as necessary for arborists than do private sector employers. This may be due to the fact that arborists in many smaller western communities are expected to be jacks-of-all-trades, and do things other than tree care work.

Table 4 shows a rank ordering of skills public sector respondents indicate graduating urban foresters should possess. Only public sector responses are shown because relatively few urban foresters are hired by the private sector.

The planning and management role of urban foresters is reflected by the large percentage of respondents who feel that necessary skills include general botany, shade and street tree selection, public relations, writing skills, budgeting, and landscape management. The need for competency in tree surgery, cabling and bracing, and wound repair is regarded as less important for urban foresters than for arborists.

Skills lacking

Employers often find that their employees lack necessary training in certain areas. Once these areas are identified, courses, curricula, and training programs can be evaluated and, if necessary, changed to place greater emphasis upon teaching these skills. Responses to the following question provide data regarding this issue. “Which of the above skills that you have checked [as necessary] do you find frequently lacking in individuals that secure positions in arboriculture and urban forestry?”

Table 5 shows a rank ordering of skills reported as frequently lacking for arborists and urban foresters. Private sector responses were used to rank order arborists’ skills lacking. Only public sector responses were used to rank order urban foresters’ skills often lacking because most urban foresters are hired by public sector employers.

The data indicate that arborists are reported to often lack sufficient training in basic tree-care skills and equipment operation. In addition, greater training emphasis is needed in the areas of public relations and public speaking skills. Employers of urban foresters report that public relations and management related skills are most frequently lacking. This may reflect the fact that most urban foresters are expected to promote as well as manage urban forestry programs. Com-munication skills are necessary if this is to be done effectively.