Class members receive hands-on training in the safe use of equipment and techniques when handling trees.
CHARLOTTE -- This week, 12 Charlotte residents are getting to learn more about the tree care industry through a program called Tree Care Tech Reach.
Class members receive hands-on training in the safe use of equipment and techniques when handling trees. At the end of the 40-hour course, the students will go to a job fair to meet
potential employees.
"There is a heightened sense of the environment with the drought recently here in the Southeast, people really care about their trees and they really want to take care of them,” said Steve Johnston, vice president of Tree Care Tech Reach. “Our industry has been growing for the past several years but just in the past few it started to really, really mushroom down here in the Southeast."
According to industry research, the annual demand for trained, entry level tree care workers exceeds the available supply by 30,000 people.