As part of Plants at Work's 20th-year celebrations, they are featuring as many of their past chairs as possible with some relevant questions. Some questions were sent to Thomas Palfreyman, MD of Urban Planters Franchise, who was Chair from 2009 - 2011 when Plants at Work was still known as eFIG.
"When I was voted on to Chair, it was identified by the committee that we needed a greater number of members and that the old website was dated. The two projects went hand in hand and the new website not only gave eFIG a fresh new look but it also helped underpin our position whilst we were on the recruitment drive. The membership grew under my term, which was the primary aim. In short, I was very happy with the results."
When asked if he thinks more events can be pursued, Thomas answered: "Any events which raise awareness of the value and benefits of plants will be beneficial, and if made open to the public, I feel they would be incredibly well attended. Green is in, and anything we can do to support and promote this will be fantastic. Mental Health and wellbeing have been hugely impacted by the Covid pandemic, and we need to do what we can to ensure we recover as quickly and safely as we can.
As to whether more training should be offered, Thomas thinks "the industry is desperate for people to work in all levels of the business, from technicians, installers, sales, admin, and account managers. I feel the best thing plants@work could do is to work with training providers and educational departments to help create recognized qualifications that will feed the industry with young ambitious and creative people our growing businesses can employ."
Read the complete article at www.plantsatwork.co.uk.
