Occupation
Arborist
Arborists prune, assess, treat, and remove trees, working from ropes, aerial lifts, or the ground with chainsaws and chippers. It is one of the more hazardous outdoor trades, so rigging, cutting plans, and traffic or public control are worked out before the first cut. The job also has a diagnostic side: judging tree health, structure, and risk to people and property.
Also known as: Tree surgeon · Tree climber · Utility arborist · Tree care technician
Occupation content
Part of Agriculture, animals and environment
What the work involves
- Assess tree health, structural defects, and site hazards before planning the work.
- Climb or use an aerial lift to prune, reduce, or dismantle trees section by section.
- Set up rigging to lower limbs safely away from buildings, vehicles, and power lines.
- Operate chainsaws, chippers, and stump grinders and maintain the cutting gear.
- Set up traffic control and exclusion zones and brief the ground crew on the drop zone.
- Advise clients on pruning options, tree preservation, planting choices, and aftercare.
How people commonly enter
- An apprenticeship or trainee groundworker position with a tree care company, climbing once competent.
- A college certificate or diploma in arboriculture or urban forestry.
- Industry certification in arboriculture, tree risk assessment, or aerial rescue gained alongside employment.
- Moving from landscaping or forestry work into tree care with climbing and chainsaw tickets.
Typical training: Apprenticeship
Licensing: Certification common, not usually required
Typical work context
Outdoors · Physically active · Client sites · High responsibility · Team based
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Investigative (analytical)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Agriculture, animals and environment.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Grounds Maintenance Workers · United States
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- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation search (Arborist) · Canada
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- UK National Careers Service — Explore careers (Arborist) · United Kingdom
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Agriculture, animals and environment in Canada, not a figure for Arborist. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Agriculture, animals and environment family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: education pathways
Some roles in Agriculture, animals and environment may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
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