In mid-October, five brand new Tristram Plants Apprentices will kick start their horticultural careers by attending their first on site sessions at Pershore College.
The exciting partnership between Pershore College and Tristram Plants offers Apprentices a fantastic opportunity to gain an Advanced Level 3 (A level) qualification as a Horticulture Crop Technician, specifically in our profession and directly linked to their day job.
The two year course is a mixture of practical on the job training and college based learning covering 10 units: Behaviours, Health & Safety, Plant Nomenclature, Environment, Equipment & Machinery, Soil Science and Growing Media, Crop Establishment, Crop Management, Harvesting & Dispatch and Business.
The Apprentices with their Managers and Walberton’s HR Manager
Camilla Penn, Walberton Nursery’s HR & Recruitment Manager sees this as a key opportunity in the ever challenging labour market: “Recruitment at all levels in our sector has become increasingly difficult, so we were incredibly fortunate to have five Apprentices start their course at the same time. We have an astonishing 1100+ years of service just among our existing Tristram Plants staff, so we know that once in the industry people find it an incredibly rewarding environment to work in – the problem often is getting people through the door to start their experience. These Apprenticeships provide new and exciting opportunities for us to train our next generation of horticulturalists, and we aim to have more positions available in 2023.”
Walberton Nursery
Mark Creighton, who is managing the Walberton Nursery Apprenticeship, said “Over my last 30ish years, I have always been involved in trying to get people involved and discovering what an amazing career can be had in horticulture, so the opportunity presented by the Apprenticeship scheme is fantastic. It offers a challenging 2-year course to new entrants and career changers. The Level 3 Crop Technician course (generally accepted as equivalent to 2 ‘A’ levels) opens so many doors, it gives practical and theoretical training and is a stepping stone to a career as a grower, a technical manager, an agronomist, or horticultural technician. We have a great cross section of candidates this year across the Tristram Plants Group, a brilliant mix of youth and experience and I am sure with their enthusiasm and willingness to learn and the business support we will produce 5 real assets to the horticultural industry. I can’t wait to see them graduate and the next cohort go forward.”
Walberton’s Apprentices, Max and Nesayam are excited about their new journey and had this to say:
Max:
Where did you come from on your route to the Apprenticeship? “I always had an interest in plants and the natural world, which is why I studied Environmental Science at Uni. However I wanted to be out in the field doing practical work so I deferred and saw this job ad thought it was exactly what I needed.”
What are you looking forward to most from the Apprenticeship? “Being able to identify pests, diseases and types of plants simply through the knowledge I will have gained while studying. The wide variety of content I’ll cover is also very exciting to me; I love being well-versed in areas that I’m passionate about.”
How are you finding your time in the business so far? “I’ve been working for Farplants since late January 2022 and can honestly say I’ve loved almost every aspect of work, whether that be propagating the new batch of plants, learning how the irrigation systems work and, of course, driving the tractors. I always take pride in my work, and it’s a very fulfilling sensation to know that I love what I do, and I’m excited to learn all of the ins and outs of the horticulture industry.”
For more information:
Tristram Plants
www.tristramplants.co.uk