Case Studies
UNEMPLOYED > SOCIAL FORESTER AND WOODLAND OWNER
Unemployed
▸ Tir Coed project
▸ Tir Coed chainsaw course
▸ Tir Coed support worker
▸ Tir Coed activity leader
▸ Woodland owner
▸ Employment with Tir Coed’s social enterprise Wisewoods Wales
▸ Self employed
“I first volunteered with Tir Coed with winter approaching and no prospects of anything like meaningful work coming my way. After an exciting journey I was making a wage to live on through meaningful, outdoor work! Some years later and I am still at times working with Tir Coed as a freelance tutor and own my own woodland.”Read their full story here
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS > TIR COED SUPPORT WORKER AND WOODLAND ENTERPRISE
Unemployed with mental health problems & physical issues
▸ 2 x Tir Coed training courses
▸ Level one accreditation for sustainable woodland management and level 2 practical conservation
▸ volunteering at Tir Coed events and open days
▸ currently being trained to become a support worker for Tir Coed & suppoted to develop a woodland enterprize with 3 other Tir Coed participants
“Tir Coed has helped me over come certain personal issues, for a very long time I have suffered from multiple mental health problems and physical issues. Since I have been attending the sessions I have greatly improved my mental and physical state as well as getting a great education. Every day I am learning more and more about wild life and woodland management, over the last year I have found myself getting more involved with volunteering as my health is improving benefits Tir Coed are making to my life and many others.”Read their full story here
UNEMPLOYED > WOODLAND SERVICE WORKER
Unemployment
▸ Tir Coed project
▸ Tir Coed volunteering
▸ Tir Coed support worker and training
▸ Tir Coed forestry apprenticeship
▸ Employment with forestry company
“The apprenticeship, has opened more doorways to jobs in proper forestry work, given me loads of opportunities and I’ve met new people, so it’s given me more contacts locally. I had good fun and learnt lots.”Read their full story here
REDUNDANT > TIR COED ACTIVITY LEADER
Made redundant
▸ attended a number of Tir Coed courses
▸ freelance support tutor
▸ Tir Coed activity leader
“I have not invested in my education or personal development much over the past few years, but since working/learning with Tir Coed Vine I have learnt heaps. It has also helped me to gain confidence in my skills which has enabled me to develop my gardening business and I have just completed my first landscaping job. It is hard to find a way of learning the skills Tir Coed teach, most of which are skills that were part of everyday life 30-40 years that have now been completely lost most of the population.”Read their full story here
UNEMPLOYED SINGLE MOTHER > TIR COED TUTOR & SUCCESSFUL WOODLAND CRAFTER
Unemployed
▸ Tir Coed project
▸ Tir Coed craft progression project (Hadau)
▸ Tir Coed support worker
▸ Self-employed and selling woodland products
▸ Tir Coed tutor
“As a poor self-employed craftswoman, taking part in the Harvesting the Knowledge project was interesting and priceless to me. On one side of the family, my ancestors were clog-makers and wheel wights, and on the other side they were farmers and foresters, the experience has brought me closer to my own past. ”Read their full story here
UNEMPLOYED > SELF-EMPLOYED CARPENTER & CRAFTSMAN
Unemployed
▸ Tir Coed training course
▸ Part-time carpenter & struggling craftsman
▸ Tir Coed Hadau craft progression project
▸ Self employed selling greenwood crafts locally
“Tir Coed taught me a lot about what I wanted to do with my life. It also inspired me to decide that I was capable of achieving my goals. The skills I learnt on the course helped me get some part-time work building bespoke timber-frame compost toilets and has really boosted my confidence and has inspired me to begin to develop, what was a hobby into a viable business.”Read their full story here
UNENGAGED WITH COLLEGE > SELF-EMPLOYED WOODLAND WORKER
Unengaged by college
▸ Tir Coed apprenticeship
▸ happily self-employed working with groups in the woodland
“It has greatly increased my confidence and social skills and feeling of self-worth; I’ve reached far beyond my modest expectations. I’ve developed skills to interact as a team member and leader and through demonstrations, interacting with the public has become more comfortable for me. My placement has been a vital period for me to develop skills, which will be very useful in any field I choose to pursue. I’ve made connections that will allow me to find other future employment.”
TEENAGE FATHER NEET > SELF-EMPLOYED WOODLAND WORKER
NEET & teenage father
▸ Tir Coed training course
▸ Tir Coed apprenticeship
▸ Chainsaw course
▸ Self-employed woodland worker and chainsaw operator
“Knowing that I’ve got the basis of a solid career in the woods makes my ‘teenage father experience’ less terrifying. I know what I want to do now – work in the woods. Meeting new people and making contacts has been a great part of it, and gaining my chainsaw ticket is extremely handy. This apprenticeship has really got me into a focused, working head state, and has given me the confidence and responsibility to move on.”
