Parks Horticultural Apprentice

Want to turn your love of gardening and plants into a career? Do you enjoy spending your days outdoors being active, learning how to create and care for beautiful spaces that are a haven for people, nature and wildlife? This horticultural apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity to make this a reality and for you to train to become a gardener of the future.

You'll grow your knowledge and skills in our stunning Worth Park, Tilgate Park and Goffs Park. All are historic gardens and places of interest with formal gardens, arboretums, herbaceous borders, and lakes. The parks also feature croquet lawns, wildflower meadows, a walled garden, and rockeries which provide a wide variety of learning opportunities.

In addition to a passion for gardening, love of a natural ways of doing things and enjoyment of physical work outdoors in all weathers, you'll enjoy regularly pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. You'll be part a small parks team with lots to do every day as well as balancing learning through work and college.

At college you will gain the skills and knowledge to work in horticulture or go on to further learning and training in this area. At work you will get lots of practice and support to enable you to develop as a horticulturist or gardener.

At college you'll study:

• establishment and maintenance of plants outside


• plant naming, identification, selection, and science


• care, maintenance and use of tools and machinery


• pruning skills


• identification of plant pests and diseases


• plan and design of garden borders


• soil science and care


• turf preparation and maintenance


• concepts of good environmental and sustainable horticultural practices


• good planting practices


• tree planting skills


• first aid training


• site visits, 37 hours per week. Working days will be Monday to Friday, hours to be agreed with the Parks Maintenance and Conservation Manager to meet service requirement.
  
  Your people skills are important too. Whether spending time with park users, volunteers, contractor, or work colleagues, you will feel confident about working well with others daily. You'll also be ready to take responsibility for yourself and your learning, using your initiative to make decisions as well as plan and organise what you do so that it is always done to a high standard. A strong work ethic, common sense, and the ability to work with technology will also help you stand out.


This is a physical role so you must be reasonably fit to cope with the demands of the work, which include lifting and carrying and working outdoors in all weather conditions.

This is an entry level apprenticeship, equivalent to 5 GCSEs A
• to C or 9 to 4. If you already have 50% or more work experience or prior learning of the skills, knowledge, and behaviours of the Horticulture Operative apprenticeship standard, we will be unable to shortlist you for this opportunity.


You must have the right to live and work in UK. As this is a government funded apprenticeship you must have lived in the UK for the last three consecutive years. You must not be currently enrolled on another apprenticeship or further or higher education programme and do not already hold a qualification at level 2 or above in Horticulture or a closely related subject., Your formal learning will take place at a college distant from Crawley up to one day per week. You must be able to travel there using public or your own transport.

Please consider the distance to travel for work as the parks are in various locations in Crawley and the cost of this in relation to the apprenticeship wage.

Satisfactory clearance of a basic disclosure and barring (DBS) check is a condition of your employment.

A full and current UK driving licence is a requirement of the role.

Expect to start between 7.00am and 7.30am every day with an adaptable approach as there might be varied finishing times, depending on what parks you are scheduled to work in.

Extra hours may be required outside of basic working hours and on Bank Holidays for which a 14% enhancement will be paid. Hours of work will reflect demand and may occasionally involve some evening work., We offer a generous employee benefits package, with a range of discounts, benefits and wellbeing incentives to suit everyone.