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- Work in a nursery helping with the growing and selling of plants
- Learn about horticulture and build practical and customer service skills
- Opportunities to progress into supervisory roles or train further to go into horticulture
To be a garden nursery assistant, you'll serve customers, as well as grow plants in nurseries and garden centres.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Loading and unloading deliveries
- Pruning, shaping and spacing plants
- Weeding, watering and feeding
- Potting seedlings
- Monitoring plant health and quality
- Re-stocking plant displays
- Serving customers
- Picking and packing orders for deliveries
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work at a garden centre and your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers. Protective clothing may be required.
You'll need
To be a garden nursery assistant, you'll need thoroughness and attention to detail, the ability to work both on your own and with others, persistence and determination, flexibility and openness to change, physical fitness and endurance, and basic computer skills.
There are no set entry requirements, but employers will expect you to have a keen interest in plants and horticulture. Experience or qualifications in gardening, horticulture or retail work would be helpful.
You could complete a college qualification, which would teach you relevant skills and knowledge, such as a course in Horticulture.
You could get into this job through a horticultural and landscape operative intermediate apprenticeship. You can also do a packhouse line leader advanced apprenticeship, if you're working on a horticultural production line, for example picking and packing plants and flowers to order.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience you could become a nursery supervisor. You may be able to move into horticultural technician work or garden centre management by completing industry qualifications like those from the Royal Horticultural Society.