Amenity horticulturist
Amenity horticulture covers the design, construction, management and maintenance of living, recreational and leisure areas. These include: country parks; botanic and public gardens; sports facilities; urban tree planting; historic gardens and landscapes; cemeteries and crematoria; and other public spaces.
An amenity horticulturist may be involved in all stages of design, growing and maintenance. The work is increasingly complex, requiring management and technological competence alongside scientific understanding and the traditional skills of cultivation. Amenity horticulture can be a rewarding career choice as it involves making a valuable contribution to conserving the environment and improving quality of life. Amenity horticulturists may also work in education or the media.
When you reach management level, the work will require meeting agreed deadlines and operating within agreed budgets. More time will be spent on office-based tasks, which will take you away from some of the core activities of horticulture, e.g. the actual gardening.
The opportunity to enter horticulture is open to all, whether or not you have a degree/HND. Many of the horticulturists currently in senior positions entered the field straight from school, gaining qualifications through part-time study. However, the situation has changed recently and it is increasingly common for new entrants to have a horticultural qualification.
The following degree subjects could improve your chances of developing a professional career in amenity horticulture:
The variety of non-degree qualifications is multifarious, including NVQs, certificates, diplomas, HNCs, and HNDs. The subjects you can study are also wide-ranging and include amenity horticulture, horticultural sciences, landscape and garden design, and organic production. Lantra: The Sector Skills Council for the Environmental and Land-based Sector has the Lantra CourseFinder that allows you to search for courses by postcode.
Postgraduate study is not a critical requirement, but practical experience is desirable. Among the practical skills courses that might prove advantageous in helping to secure employment are the National Proficiency Test Council (NPTC) Certificate of Competence courses on topics such as Chainsaw and Related Operations, and the Safe Use of Mowers and Hedge Trimmers.
In addition to practical cultivation skills, candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
A full driving licence can be a useful asset and fluency in another language is helpful if you are thinking of working abroad.
Since practical experience is important, try to obtain a work experience placement or a vacation job within the industry. If you are interested in working overseas, a number of agencies such as AgriVenture and the International Exchange Program UK (IEPUK) offer work experience placements in all areas of horticulture.
After graduation, look out for advertisements as they arise in the industry's press. Short-term contracts are also a good way of gaining relevant experience. Be prepared to start in posts where you get your hands dirty before taking responsibility for a workforce.
The horticulture industry is struggling to recruit young people into the industry, but there is increasing interest from career changers, some of whom may have already had a lengthy career in a different industry. Many of them have had management experience in their previous careers and have come to horticulture for a change. They are therefore often reluctant to enter management in horticulture and prefer to stay ‘hands-on’. As a result, there is now a demand for people to train as managers or as technical specialists, especially as many experienced horticulture managers are in line for retirement over the next few years.
A professional qualification and post-qualification experience are becoming necessary for specialist posts within foreign governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), development agencies and consultancies alike. Temporary contracts, often for professionals without dependants, are now the norm as overseas governments seek to fill vacancies from within the indigenous population.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Training varies from minimal on-the-job training to well-structured graduate training schemes and in-house training programmes. Some employers provide opportunities to take management qualifications and health and safety training.
The big names in horticulture offer a variety of on-the-job training schemes covering a wide range of practical experience and horticultural theory. For example, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) runs the two-year Wisley Diploma in Practical Horticulture, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew offers a three-year apprenticeship and a one-year traineeship, and the National Trust has a three-year Careership programme.
There has been a marked increase in the number of distance-learning courses in horticulture, which often appeal to career changers. Most distance-learning courses do not have a practical element, so learners must organise their own work experience if they hope to compete in the job market.
Graduates aiming for senior management and technical posts or to become head gardeners or technical consultants should look for employers who will provide the training necessary to obtain BASIS (Registration) Limited and Fertiliser Advisers Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS) qualifications. BASIS is an independent organisation set up by the agricultural and horticultural industries to provide training and maintain professional standards in certain areas of relevant activity.
Professional organisations, such as the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) , offer tailored training solutions to employers of amenity horticulturists and grounds maintenance professionals. The Institute of Horticulture (IoH) offers a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme, which is open to its members and leads to enlistment in the IoH Roll of Registered Horticulturists.
Amenity horticulture has, in the past, provided an excellent example of career development. Most employers offer opportunities for in-house training and many managers in the profession started out as gardeners. First jobs usually involve hands-on cultivation and maintenance work, but with experience you will begin to supervise teams of people in the various operations necessary for the horticultural maintenance and refurbishment of recreational and leisure areas. Graduates can often move on to higher-paid management positions relatively quickly and, eventually, you will also be involved with the management of these facilities.
Promotion will depend on your ability to develop your own skills, both practical and managerial. A portfolio containing details of successful projects will be an invaluable aid to promotion. Career progression is more likely in large organisations, from generalist to supervisor and/or specialist to team manager and thereafter to a general management post. Mobility may be necessary for promotion.
There may also be opportunities to transfer to landscape architecture, design and planning, or move into other areas such as education and the media. In the latter, opportunities arise from time to time for researchers or production assistants for gardening and garden design television and radio programmes.
The most prestigious award open to horticultural professionals is the Master of Horticulture (MHort), a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) award. It is open to those who have already achieved the RHS Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture (or equivalent) and three years' relevant horticultural experience.
Typical employers include:
A number of horticulturists work as self-employed contractors.
Trainee manager posts are sometimes advertised, but many employers only have a small number of vacancies each year and do not recruit on a regular basis. Such posts are advertised as they arise. A network of personal contacts in the industry can be valuable, as many posts are filled by informal networking.
Colleges and university schools of agriculture and horticulture usually have established contacts within the industry.
Specialist research positions, often involving periods of work overseas, occur (infrequently) at the botanic gardens. Colleges and university schools of agriculture and horticulture that also offer advisory services sometimes use postgraduate students as assistants on client-based projects.
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