Brinsbury horticulture students meet leading employers

Horticulture students from Chichester College’s Brinsbury Campus had the opportunity to meet two leading organisations in the industry recently.

Grounds maintenance and landscaping company Burleys, together with plant specialists, nursery and garden designers Architectural Plants were keen to strengthen their ties with the college and give students an insight into commercial horticulture.

A special event was hosted by Architectural Plants at their stunning new nursery in Pulborough which began with a presentation from Sean Towey, Southern Regional Manager for Burleys, outlining the company’s structure, key markets and career paths.

Sean Towey said: “We were delighted to support Brinsbury and its budding professionals as both a regional and local education/industry partner. We were particularly impressed with our audience’s engagement, especially when we got into the mock interview sessions, with some clearly inspiring and hopefully inspired candidates showing both an interest and career focus beyond the current training. Suffice to say we wish all well whatever path they choose including, we hope, Burleys!”

All the students then took part in practice interviews with a panel of Burley’s management team. Meanwhile, Ed Nugent and his nursery experts trained students in potting up plants ready for sale.

“This sort of work experience and industry contacts are invaluable for students looking to progress into the workplace. We really can’t thank Architectural Plants and Burleys enough for their time and commitment to this event,” said Mark Howard, Course Leader at Brinsbury.

As a result of the day, several students have been offered work experience placements across the region. Burley’s already have a number of Brinsbury apprentices on the team one of whom helped the college with an award for a show garden at this year’s Ideal Home Show.

Chichester College has been rated outstanding by OFSTED. The college offers a range of land-based courses from its Brinsbury Campus including horticulture, agriculture, arboriculture, farriery,blacksmithing, motor vehicle and motorcycle maintenance and repair, engineering, dog grooming, equine studies and animal management.

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