Horticultural worker Job Information | National Careers Service

The work

As a horticultural worker, you would be involved in growing plants for one of the following purposes:

• production horticulture - producing and selling plants for either food or decoration
• garden centres - producing plants for sale to the public
• parks and gardens - looking after areas such as private or public historic or botanic parks, gardens and green spaces.

Your day-to-day tasks vary vastly, depending on the season of the year and would include:

• sowing seeds and planting bulbs and ornamental plants
• growing plants from cuttings and by grafting
• taking care of plants - watering, weeding, pruning, feeding and spraying
• mowing grass, cutting dead growth and branches, and general tidying
• laying paths and looking after ornamental features.

Depending on the job, you could also pick, sort and package produce to be sent to retailers, sell plants and other products, and advise customers in a garden centre.

Hours

You would usually work a 40-hour week, although some jobs are seasonal, with longer hours during the summer. You may need to work weekends and evenings, particularly in garden centres.

Your work would be physically demanding, involving bending, lifting and carrying.

Income

Horticultural workers can earn between £12,000 to around £20,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You do not usually need qualifications to become an horticultural worker – you may be able to find work if you have experience in a similar area such as forestry or farming, or have skills and knowledge gained by gardening as a hobby. It will be useful to have customer service experience if you want to work in a garden centre.

You may find it useful to attend a full-time or part-time course before looking for work, although this is not essential. Relevant courses include:

• Level 2 Certificate/Diploma in Horticulture
• Level 3 Certificate/Diploma in Horticulture
• Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture
• RHS Diploma in the Principles and Practices of Horticulture at levels 2 and 3.

Course entry requirements can vary, so you should check with individual colleges. See the RHS website for details of RHS qualifications and centres offering training.

You may be able to get into this job through an Apprenticeship scheme. The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. To find out more, visit the Apprenticeships website.

• Apprenticeships

Training and development

Once you start work you may receive on-the-job training from experienced workers and supervisors. You may also be able to work towards qualifications such as NPTC Certificate, Diploma and Award in Work-based Horticulture at levels 2 and 3.

If your job involves tasks which could be dangerous, such as operating chainsaws and using pesticides, you will need certificates of competence which are awarded by the City & Guilds (Land-based services).

See the City & Guilds website for details of the certificates, and of other short courses that could add to your skills and knowledge.

• City & Guilds

Skills and knowledge

To be a horticultural worker you should have:

• a knowledge of plants and their care
• practical skills
• the ability to understand and follow health and safety regulations
• the ability to work either alone or in a team
• customer service and money handling skills for garden centre work.

More information

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
www.rhs.org.uk

Lantra
Lantra House
Stoneleigh Park
Nr Coventry
Warwickshire
CV8 2LG
Tel: 0845 707 8007
www.lantra.co.uk

Grow Careers
www.growcareers.info

City & Guilds
1 Giltspur Street
London
EC1A 9DD
Tel: 0844 543 0000
www.cityandguilds.com

Opportunities

Jobs in amenity horticulture are mainly in larger towns and cities, working for local councils, looking after public parks, gardens and playing fields. Councils increasingly employ private contractors to do this work, so you could also find employment with these.

With experience you could set up your own nursery or garden maintenance business.

In larger organisations, you may have the chance to progress to supervisor and manager jobs once you have experience or further qualifications.

You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and further reading (links open in new window):

• LGjobs
• Grow Careers
• Horticulture Week

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

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• Landscape