This time two years ago Baba Lafene chose to retrain because his landscaping business was suffering as a result of the recession. He’d always been interested in working outside and in gardening so he chose to gain some more specialist skills.
“I thought, why not trees? The Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture is such a good course because it covers both the practical side and the science. It’s great if you want to learn a good trade but it also prepares you for working on the management side, for me it’s both. I’m really interested in conservation so this has given me more options in terms of my employability.”
After the first year of his course Baba was working for himself as a tree surgeon. Achieving distinctions throughout all his assignments he intends to build his experience in the trade before pursuing a career as a tree surveyor.
