The best career could be right out your window

[PRESS RELEASE]

The horticulture, landscaping and sports turf industry performs a crucial role in the design, construction, management and maintenance of Northern Ireland's green spaces. Cultivating the next generation of landscape gardeners is vital in a country where horticulture plays such an important role. Occupations exist at a variety of levels within the industry, including roles such as Park Managers, Landscape Officers, Groundsmen, Horticulturalists, Gardeners and Curator Ecologists. Donald Wilson is the Landscape Manager at Bloomingdale Nurseries, a well established landscaping business outside Belfast. His first taste of landscaping was experienced during his childhood when he worked alongside his grandfather, one of the first tree surgeons in Northern Ireland. Deciding on a career in horticulture was easy for Donald. He attended an open evening at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise's (CAFRE) Greenmount Campus, and after speaking to advisers about a career in horticulture, knew straight away that this was the right path for him; he subsequently studied for a National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in Horticulture. Donald stated: "During my time at Greenmount Campus I had the opportunity to undertake a work placement year, spending time at Clarke Cunningham's Tree Maintenance Ltd where I undertook a variety of tree surgery roles, and then at Gillespie's Garden Centre where I worked both with the landscaping team and carried out work in the nursery. If it wasn't for the experience I gained whilst at CAFRE, I don't think I would be where I am today. It's so important to get hands on experience as well as a good grounding of theory." Donald's main areas of work at Bloomingdale Nurseries include the management of private and commercial landscaping, as well as the day to day running of the business which includes supervising staff and sourcing materials. Donald believes that skills are vital to his role: "People management skills are so important to me as I am constantly interacting with both the public and staff,as is having an understanding of horticulture techniques, design elements and business management. I also believe that training is very important; its helps get the best out of staff, but it's also vital to ensure staff safety." Donald's enthusiasm for his job is very obvious: "Work satisfaction is about getting good feedback from clients, and knowing that a garden that was once a wilderness now looks really good. It's also great to be able to go back a few years after a garden has been landscaped to see how it has developed and been maintained." He continued: "A real highlight for me was when Bloomingdale Nurseries won an Award of Merit for Private Gardens Construction under £10,000 during the Association of Landscape Contractors, Ireland (ALCI) Awards in 2008; it was an honour to be a part of the team that achieved this." Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries is responsible for ensuring that people working in the horticultural, landscaping and sports turf industry have the right skills to carry out their jobs effectively. David Seffen, Partnership Manager said: "Although the industry is dominated by small businesses, changes in recent years have led to an increasing demand for high skilled staff. Lantra's research shows that we need more people to come into the industry; without a skilled industry who knows what will become of our green spaces." Horticulture, landscaping and sports turf is only one of the 17 industries represented by Lantra. There are many career opportunities to choose from, and if you are interested in finding out more about working in the environmental and land-based sector then Lantra can help. Simply visit us at www.lantra.co.uk or give us a call on 0845 707 8007.