Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management

The Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management is for you if you are aged 16-19, and want to work within the countryside. It is designed to provide you with a very wide range of specialist technical practical skills and detailed knowledge and understanding which will equip you to seek a diverse range of employment opportunities, or to further learning and training within the land and wildlife industries.

This qualification gives you the opportunity to learn about and build on the essentials of working within the countryside, such as estate skills, population surveys, safe use of equipment and machinery, land use and recreation and environmental processes. You will then choose to specialise in either countryside, game or fisheries.

If you choose the countryside option then you will go on to study ecological concepts and application, environmental interpretation and fresh water and wetland management. You will go on to study further areas such as farm habitat management, heathland habitat management, coastal management, managing volunteers, outdoor adventure activities or overland expeditions.

Students taking the game option will go on to study pest and predator control, use of firearms, ecology of game species and fresh water and wetland management. You will go on to study further areas and gain skills in areas such as shoot management, working dogs, gamebird production, game management, commercial deer management, captive deer management or upland game management.

If you are particularly interested in fish and fisheries, then you will go on to study water quality, fish biology, fish health, fishery management, fresh water and wetland management and warm water and marine aquaculture. You will go on to study further areas such as river fishery creation and management, still water fishery creation and management, aquatic ecosystems, cyprinid farming, salmonid farming or fresh water aquarium systems.

Compulsory topics include:

• Population surveys, ecology and conservation
• Countryside recreation
• Principles of physical and biological environmental processes
• Woodland habitat management
• Estate skills
• Ecological concepts and application
• Environmental interpretation in the land based sector
• Fresh water and wetland management

Learners will also be able to choose additional optional topics, including:

• Pest and predator control
• Use of firearms in the environmental and land based sector
• Business management in the land based sector
• Farm habitat management
• Undertake grassland habitat management
• Coastal management
• Deer management
• Principles of tree felling and chainsaw use
• Heathland habitat management
• Urban habitat conservation
• Greenwood crafts
• Managing volunteers
• Adventurous activity leadership
• Plant and soil science

This two-year Diploma in Land and Wildlife exposes you to the whole industry, and the opportunities within it. On completion, it is likely that you will enter the industry by working for an estate, land owner, farm, sporting estate/shoot or a fishery. As you will have gained a breadth and depth of skills and knowledge over a very wide range of units, you could progress within work to become:

In countryside pathway, a

• Countryside ranger
• Countryside warden
• Volunteer manager
• Estate supervisor
• Boundary contractor

In game pathway, a

• Gamekeeper (lowland)
• Gamekeeper (upland)
• Stalker
• Shoot manager
• Beat keeper

In fisheries pathway, a

• Fish feed manufacturing and development officer
• Fishery consultancy assistant
• Fishery manager
• Fishery bailiff

You may wish to learn more through an Advanced Apprenticeship in Environmental Conservation or Game and Wildlife Management, which allows you to combine working for a wildlife trust or estate, or a similar job, typically attending one day a week at college or with a training provider.

For more information, read the Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management Qualification Handbook

Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management website