What’s it all about then?

As a Horticultural Technician you’ll grow and nurture plants, vegetables, fruit, trees, shrubs and flowers.

You could be working in an educational or research establishment or for a commercial enterprise such as a landscape contractor or market gardener.

You could also specialise in a specific area of horticulture such as irrigation, soil or seed science or maybe even work as part of a laboratory team.

What might I be doing?

There are a wide variety of tasks you could be doing, including:

• preparing soil for seed planting
• growing plants using different techniques
• monitoring and maintaining indoor and outdoor plants
• ordering plants and equipment
• maintaining machinery and tools
• examining plant specimens
• providing advice and guidance as required
• recording relevant data from field samples
• managing irrigation systems
• watering and fertilising plants
• controlling plant diseases and pests
• recycling waste materials
• resolving issues as they arise to minimise losses

What will be expected of me?

You’ll be expected to have a good working knowledge of science and plants and be someone who works methodically, always paying attention to detail, particularly when recording information; also, patience and perseverance are expected in this job.

You’ll have to be someone who can work as part of team but is also contented to work alone from time to time.

Obviously, you’ll be expected to have a passion for nurturing plants, and this can mean outdoors work in all sorts of weather.

What can I expect?

The working hours will vary according to the exact nature of the job, but you will normally work a 40-hour week, often involving evenings and weekends; you may also have longer hours at certain times if you find yourself in seasonal work.

You can expect a wide variety of work and the opportunity to develop expertise in one or more specialist areas, which always helps with career prospects.

What about the pay?

Salaries vary widely with the type of employer, location, and exact nature of the role of Horticultural Technician. However, you could expect the following:

• a starting salary of between £15,500 - £19,500
• with experience this can rise to £20,000 - £35,500
• graduates could start on £21,000
• experienced managers can earn from £30,000 to £40,000

Remember that these salaries are intended as a guideline only and you should always check for yourself!

What qualifications do I need to get in?

Whilst there are no set qualifications for entry, many employers start young people off in Apprenticeships; these are a fantastic way of getting started and mean you earn while you learn, but you should have successfully passed your GCSEs in English, Maths and a Science to make yourself even more employable.

For instance, you might consider a level 2 Apprenticeship in Horticulture/Diploma in Work-based horticulture, from which you could progress to a level 3 Advanced Technical Certificate in Horticulture.

Or you might consider a level 2 or level 3 Horticulture course, depending on your GCSE grades and whether you want fulltime study.

Alternatively, you might want to consider taking a degree related to your work; this could be horticulture or a more specialised area on which you have decided to focus.

Where would I get these qualifications?

Many colleges offer horticultural courses such as those listed above, as well as many others. You should check your local area for details but there will be something that interests you.

Qualifications are also available via distance learning which is a great way to enhance your career prospects whilst working at the same time.

What about further training?

There are loads of courses that you could study to enhance your career prospects; these include foundation degrees and honours degrees in Horticulture; many of these are offered jointly for instance with plant science, business, landscape design, garden design and plantsmanship. and many different specialist qualifications.

The sky is the limit here and, if you have an academic mind, then post-graduate qualifications are also available.

You should also think about joining the professional body for Horticulture professionals, the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. There are various grades of membership available and the Institute also host a very useful website which you could use to search for grants to help you develop your career.

Anything else I might need to know?

Yes, Horticultural Technicians are always in demand and you can enter the industry at any level from GCSE and upwards; with experience and further qualifications you can become a trusted specialist or possibly even open your own business.

It’s a great job if you’re interested in plants and don’t suffer from such allergies as hay fever!