Arborist industry desperate for 20,000 workers to prevent ‘tree failure’ in Australia’s parks

With wages up to $90,000 a year or more common, the arborist training industry is desperate for a large number of new recruits, and you don’t need a degree.

According to a market leader, the number of arborists or arborists in Australia needs to double within five years to keep up with the growing demand for green spaces across the country.

The race has begun to recruit 20,000 additional arborists by 2027 to ensure Australia’s parks remain safe and prevent trees from falling without warning, known as ‘tree failure’.

Contractor Citywide is concerned about how the industry will meet commitments from governments at every level to plant more trees for environmental benefits.

The profession is on the federal government’s priority list for skills and is listed as an in-demand profession in every state and territory.

“The industry has identified a need for 20,000 arborists over the next five years just to keep up with the existing level of green infrastructure,” city spokesman Simon Mossman told AAP.

“(In some areas) we could do with four times as many arborists and arborists today.

“Governments and industry are at risk of not meeting some of their goals for planting more trees.”

There have been a number of fatal accidents in Australia in recent years where trees or branches hit pedestrians and cars, demonstrating how catastrophic tree failure can be.

‘We need the figures to mitigate possible safety risks and tree loss. That’s basically the bottom line here,” Mr Mossman said.

Arboriculture Australia director James Maund said he believed the staff shortage was greater than in any other labor market.

“We recently conducted a survey and 91 percent of employers said they couldn’t find the staff they needed and that this was impacting their business,” he said.

Maund recently had an intensive training program and said three quarters of those who completed it found a job within a week.

Nine out of ten municipalities face job and skills shortages, said Linda Scott, president of the Australian Local Government Association.

“Some municipalities need more arborists, while others need more planners, building inspectors or environmental health officials,” she said.

The labor shortage is something that has long been a concern of arborist Michael Stafford, who maintains trees around Melbourne.

“It’s going to be a bit of a stressful situation,” said Citywide’s contract manager.

‘We then look at 20 years later, the doubling of trees and how we are going to maintain them.’

He believes that more school leavers should be encouraged to pursue a profession and consider tree nursery as it offers a lifelong career and something different every day.

Maund agrees that the profession is “not something on the horizon.”

He said that while the job can be dangerous, with a high number of injuries per capita, it offers a variety of positions.

Arborists maintain, plant and cut trees, while many engage in advisory services or specialized areas such as pests and diseases.

Mr Maund said the industry’s main aim was for more women and young people to join its ranks.

“It’s a great opportunity for someone who doesn’t want to work in an office environment,” he said.

“There’s a whole range of jobs in the industry that can span 20, 30, 40 years.”

Forest areas like this one in Sydney will badly need the skills of arborists in the coming years to prevent what is known as ‘tree failure’