City and Guilds 0039-24 Arboricultural Ground Worker: what the handbook says

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages used are the City and Guilds NPTC handbook for the award, the 2026 City and Guilds list and the NPTC factsheet. The award is for ground crew who support aerial workers on site. It involves no chainsaw cutting. The guide on aerial rescue covers the rescue side of ground support.

At a glance

Item	What the official source says
Awarding body	City and Guilds, under the NPTC name
Title	Level 2 Certificate of Competence in Arboricultural Ground Worker
City and Guilds number	0039-24
Ofqual number	603/7643/0
Guided learning hours	16, with a total qualification time of 18 (handbook version 1.5, May 2025)
Age	16 or over
Grading	Met or not met
Status in the 2026 list	Open to certification, registration expiry December 31, 2027, certification expiry December 31, 2030

What the handbook says it covers

The handbook says the award is for people who do ground working tasks as part of work in arboriculture, forestry or other industries, for example preparing equipment, setting equipment and supporting aerial workers on site. Its content list is hazards, risks, controls, emergency planning, legislation, industry good practice, roles and responsibilities, site zoning, supporting colleagues and other ground worker tasks.

The unit text, number 205, goes through the five steps of a risk assessment and the emergency details held for a site, such as the grid reference, meeting place and nearest hospital. It sets out the key points the specification draws from the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, in plain terms following the training received, taking reasonable care, and keeping equipment maintained and fit for purpose. It names the providers of industry good practice as the Forest Industry Safety Accord, regional forestry bodies, the Arboricultural Forestry Advisory Group and the Arboricultural Association. It lists the ground worker's roles on site as site set-up, dealing with third parties, fuelling equipment, maintaining site safety and providing support.

Entry requirements

The handbook states only a minimum age of 16. It names no other award as an entry requirement, and its list of next steps points to the Level 2 Certificate of Competence in Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-Cutting (0039-20).

Assessment

The handbook describes one assessment type: a one to one practical assessment with oral questioning by an approved City and Guilds NPTC assessor. Grading is met or not met. The handbook says assessments should take no longer than 1.5 to 3 hours. Candidates have to finish within 24 months of the date of initial registration, and the handbook says registration is valid for two years. The assessor has to hold a current First Aid at Work certificate, according to the unit text.

Refresher and renewal

The refresher intervals in the Health and Safety Executive leaflet Chainsaws at work (INDG317) and the FISA guide 805 are written for chainsaw operators. This award involves no chainsaw work, and neither document names it. The list of CPD modules in the City and Guilds 0041-01 handbook has no module for ground workers. The handbook for this award gives no expiry period for the certificate. Its two-year figure is the length of a registration to take the assessment.

Old codes

The City and Guilds NPTC factsheet lists an older Level 2 Award in Supporting Colleagues Undertaking Off Ground Tree Related Operations, 0020-08 and 0020-11, Ofqual number 600/6435/3, 23 guided learning hours, with the code CS45. The 2026 list has no row for those numbers. No page read states that 0039-24 replaces it. See old NPTC chainsaw codes and the awards that replaced them.

Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.