Career Suggestion

Horticultural worker

Horticultural workers grow plants in garden nurseries, work in food production, and maintain parks and gardens.

Average salary (a year)

£19500.0 to £24000.0 (starter to experienced)

Typical hours (a week)

40.0 to 45.0 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends / bank holidays on a rota

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
  • training with a professional body

College

You could take a college course, which may help you when looking for jobs.

Courses include:

  • Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture
  • Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • search for courses|/find-a-course

Apprenticeship

You could start by doing an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Horticulture or Landscape Construction Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Horticulture or Landscaping Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These take between 2 and 3 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide

Volunteering

You might find it useful to get some practical experience by volunteering in horticulture or gardening , while looking for jobs.

Direct Application

You can apply directly for jobs if you have experience in gardening, horticulture or retail. Employers might ask for GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in maths, English and science.

You could then do a part-time horticultural course or get training on the job to develop your skills.

Other Routes

You can take a course with The Royal Horticultural Society to learn more about horticulture or to help you get a job.

You could learn at a training centre or online depending on the course you choose.

More Information

Further Information

You can find out more about careers in horticulture through:

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • physical fitness and endurance
  • the ability to work on your own
  • physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • knowledge of food production methods
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Day-to-day tasks

Your duties will depend on whether you work in a garden centre, a park or in crop production. You could:

  • plant seeds and bulbs to grow plants and shrubs
  • water, weed, prune, feed and spray plants
  • advise customers about plants and how to look after them
  • maintain plant and soil health, and control pests
  • pick, sort and pack items to be delivered
  • serve customers

We've identified this as a green job

As a horticultural worker, you can make greater use of recycled water to improve water management in parks, nurseries and gardens. This can have a positive impact on the environment.

Find out more about green careers

Working environment

You could work in a garden, in a park, on a country estate, at a garden centre or on a farm.

Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.

With experience, you could:

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