Free forestry courses are up for offer for those looking to improve their land management skills.

The practical forestry training courses include teaching specific skills like coppicing and planting a new woodland.

The courses are funded by government and teach coppicing, chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting, managing your woodland, planning and planting a new woodland, marketing and selling timber and fence and hedge laying.

The Forestry Training Fund is for people considering a change of career or those who are seeking to build and diversify their skills in forestry.

The government has committed to increasing tree-planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares a year by the end of the Parliament to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The short, practical training courses are intended to help grow the forestry sector so that there are enough people with the right skills to plan, plant and manage the new woodlands.

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Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said: “We need to continue the legacy of our skilled forestry workforce to increase tree-planting across the country.  More woodland is vital for nature’s recovery and also essential to increase our security of UK grown timber, and deliver on our net-zero commitments.  We have many fantastic foresters already, but there aren’t enough to grow and manage our woodlands at the planned scale over the coming decades."

There is 100 per cent funding for eligible courses and grants will be in the range of £150-£3,000. Funding will be paid directly to the training provider. Applications for funding to cover training courses can be made multiple times as long as it can be demonstrated that individual courses are developing a person’s career. 

Courses will be available until March 2025. Applications are open now. To view a list of training providers and apply for funding visit GOV.UK.

Forestry Commission Chief Executive Richard Stanford said: “I encourage people from all backgrounds and abilities interested to apply, whether that’s a farmer looking to upskill or an individual looking for a rewarding career in forestry.”