Carving out a career as a tree surgeon has always been a dream for Berkshire-based Yvette, but unable to afford the required qualifications herself, she approached Perennial whose support has proved to be life-changing.
Yvette’s life looks very different today than it did just two years ago. Now in her 40s, she found herself looking for a new career having left a stressful role working as a police constable. She longed to become a tree surgeon but without relevant qualifications and unable to afford the training to join the arboriculture profession she was left without hope, feeling anxious and depressed.
“I’d always wanted to be a tree surgeon and took the opportunity to work as a trainee. But I soon found that to pay my mortgage and bills I needed to find more skilled work, which was only possible with a qualification in arboriculture. With no means of paying for training I felt lost. It was then I found Perennial.”
Yvette spoke to a Perennial caseworker who could see that with some help, Yvette could fulfil her passion to build her career in arboriculture, bringing with it a steady income and a brighter future. Perennial provided financial support to pay for Yvette’s chainsaw maintenance course through her local college, the Berkshire College of Agriculture.
“Thanks to my training, funded by Perennial, I can now use a chainsaw confidently and competently. I have found being an older female tree surgeon has put some people off employing me, but this gives me a string to my bow which I did not have before. I am so grateful to the team at Perennial for giving me hope for the future. Without their help I would not be fulfilling my ambition of working in tree surgery. I’d now like to take my love of tree surgery and talk to kids in schools about the industry. There are very few females and especially females and males of colour – so to be a role model and encourage the next generation would be a dream.”
Perennial offers financial support to help both individuals already working in horticulture to build and develop their skills and careers, and also to horticultural students who are struggling to complete their course because of an unexpected or life-changing event.
If you, or someone you know needs help, find out more about Perennial’s free and confidential services for anyone who has worked, or works in the horticulture sector in the UK. This includes gardeners, nursery owners and workers, garden designers, landscapers, arborists, foresters, garden centre staff, commercial growers, turf maintenance specialists and many more.
Call us free in confidence on 0800 093 8543 or complete our contact form for help.
