How to Get Chainsaw and Arb Tickets Funded (UK, 2026)

Who Pays for Chainsaw and Arb Tickets?

If you're employed, your employer must make sure you're trained for the chainsaw work you do, and can't charge you for training the law requires. Starting out, an apprenticeship pays for the tickets. Otherwise help is narrow: Farming Connect in Wales (farm businesses only), ELCAS for service leavers, and some councils' Skills Bootcamps in England.

TreeBay is for people aged 18 and over. If you're under 18, you'll find apprenticeships on GOV.UK's Find an apprenticeship service and help from the National Careers Service.

The tickets themselves are the City & Guilds (NPTC) and Lantra chainsaw and climbing certificates. Our NPTC chainsaw tickets guide explains which unit does what. Everything below was checked on the official pages on 17 October 2026; schemes change, so check the page linked before you book.

If You're Employed

Your employer must make sure everyone who uses work equipment has had adequate training for it, including in the risks and the precautions to take (PUWER 1998 reg 9). HSE says anyone using a chainsaw on or in a tree should hold a certificate of competence, unless they're training under supervision (HSE).

An employer can't charge an employee for anything done or provided to meet a specific requirement of health and safety law (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.9). So if your job needs a chainsaw ticket, ask your employer to arrange it.

A contract that asks you to pay back training costs shouldn't cover training your job needs by law. It may cover courses beyond that. Acas can advise.

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is the main funded route in for new starters. The training is paid for through the apprenticeship levy or government funding, up to the Arborist standard's £12,000 funding maximum (ST0223). An employer that doesn't pay the levy pays nothing for an apprentice aged 16 to 24, and 5% for older apprentices (GOV.UK: apprenticeship funding). The standard requires the chainsaw and climbing certificates along the way. Our arborist apprenticeships guide covers pay, the end-point assessment and how to find an employer.

College Courses

Full-time forestry and arboriculture courses at land-based colleges often include chainsaw units, but not always, and not always the assessment fee. Before you enrol, ask the college which certificates the course includes, and whether the assessment is paid for.

Wales: Farming Connect (Farm Businesses Only)

Farming Connect, a Welsh Government-funded programme for farmers, funds 40% of its accredited Machinery & Equipment courses (Farming Connect: Machinery and Equipment, published 23 September 2026). They include:

• chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting;
• felling and processing trees up to 380mm, and over 380mm;
• individual windblown trees (chainsaw);
• wood chipper.

Each year you can choose up to three courses, starting from 1 April, but only one Machinery & Equipment course a year per person. Business, Land and Livestock courses are funded at 80% (Farming Connect: Accredited Training). You first complete a Personal Development Plan and any mandatory e-learning in the Skills Hub.

Who can use it: the 2026–2031 criteria are for farm businesses registered with Rural Payments Wales (RPW Online) that have at least 3 hectares of eligible agricultural land in Wales (business partners, immediate family and employees on PAYE included), some smaller niche farms, and new farm entrants (Farming Connect eligibility criteria). There's no category for a tree surgery business on its own, but if you work on, or for, a registered farm, you may qualify. Everyone, including past users, has to re-register with the new programme through RPW Online.

Service Leavers: ELCAS

Enhanced Learning Credits help service leavers pay for a course at Level 3 or above with an ELCAS-approved provider, in up to three separate financial years (ELCAS). A payment can be up to 80% of the tuition fees, up to £1,000 a financial year on the lower tier or £2,000 on the higher tier, with at most three payments (SI 2012/1796 arts 9A and 9C, as substituted by SI 2016/310). If you left on or after 1 April 2016, you can claim for up to five years after leaving (ELCAS: claiming).

What that means for tickets:

• the entry chainsaw and climbing units (0039-20 to 0039-23) are Level 2, so they don't qualify on their own;
• Level 3 units, such as felling over 380mm (0039-33 and 0039-34) or chainsaw work from a MEWP (0039-38), can, but only if that provider and course are on ELCAS's approved list;
• which tier you're on depends on your length of service: your resettlement officer can confirm it (JSP 822).

Check a provider on ELCAS's own search before you pay a deposit.

England: Skills Bootcamps

Skills Bootcamps are free short courses run through local councils and combined authorities, so what's on offer depends on where you live. In East Sussex, for example, they're free for employed, self-employed and unemployed adults aged 19 and over, last up to 16 weeks, and employers training existing staff pay a small contribution (East Sussex County Council, 9 July 2026). Few cover tree work, so check what a bootcamp includes before you apply. GOV.UK's national bootcamp finder wasn't available when we checked, so look on your council's Skills Bootcamps page.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Different schemes apply. Ask Skills Development Scotland or nidirect what's available where you live.

Paying for Them Yourself

If none of these fits, you'll pay the training centre directly. Our how to become an arborist guide has typical costs for each unit, and many centres offer payment plans.

Before You Book

• Is the course at the level the funding needs (ELCAS: Level 3 or above)?
• Is the provider approved for that scheme (ELCAS's search; Farming Connect's course list)?
• Have you registered first (Farming Connect through RPW Online) and done any mandatory e-learning?
• Have you used this year's allowance already (Farming Connect: one machinery course a year from 1 April; ELCAS: one claim a financial year)?
• Do you know what's included: assessment fee, kit hire, refresher?

When you've got your tickets, browse training courses and job adverts on TreeBay.