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Horticulture Courses
Hi,
I have recently been looking at at acourse offered by he The Insitute of Gardening. Their web address is http://www.inst.org/garden/index.htm they offer a course which follows the RHS general eaxam and it seems to be well suited for what I need, however. I am trying to make sure I buy the right course. I am interested in developing a career in amenity horticulture and would ideally like to work in a Park or National Trust type of enviroment. The problem is I have NO relavent experience and this will require a huge carer change for me. What I am most concerned about is sending quite a large sum of money to an organisation that I hadn't really heard of before, have a fairly basic website with no actual examples of the type of courseware that you will receive. But do manage to give enough information to make the course sound attractive. Can people who may have purchased this course or others, please respond giving some feedback as to the quality of courseware (ie is it all photocopied, as I have paid large sums for in the past!) is it sturdily bound, informative, simple to use as reference and detailed enough to actually make a sitting the RHS General Examination Certificate without having to buy tons of supplemental reading? PHEW !!! Thanks for sticking with this post hopefully I and other potential students will find the responses useful in the future. |
Horticulture Courses
"je71" wrote in message s.com... Hi, I have recently been looking at at acourse offered by he The Insitute of Gardening. Their web address is http://www.inst.org/garden/index.htm they offer a course which follows the RHS general eaxam and it seems to be well suited for what I need, however. Have you checked if local colleges offer suitable courses? Although in decline I expect most counties still have an agricultural/horticultural college. I am trying to make sure I buy the right course. I am interested in developing a career in amenity horticulture and would ideally like to work in a Park or National Trust type of enviroment. The problem is I have NO relavent experience and this will require a huge carer change for me. At what level do you wish to be employed? Are you looking to gain employment with such organisations close to you or are you planning to move? Are you expecting the job to come with accommodation - increasingly this is less common, even with the National Trust. The notion of acquiring experience through study is an odd one though - has it worked for you before? Have you spoken to the gardeners at local properties and asked how they got started? What I am most concerned about is sending quite a large sum of money to an organisation that I hadn't really heard of before, have a fairly basic website with no actual examples of the type of courseware that you will receive. But do manage to give enough information to make the course sound attractive. If it were me I'd be more concerned with their success in getting people into the type of work you're looking for. Though I guess it depends on how important you consider getting work to be. Can people who may have purchased this course or others, please respond giving some feedback as to the quality of courseware (ie is it all photocopied, as I have paid large sums for in the past!) is it sturdily bound, informative, simple to use as reference and detailed enough to actually make a sitting the RHS General Examination Certificate without having to buy tons of supplemental reading? Although the NT and other gardeners I know are pretty good on book knowledge, the ability to repair lawnmowers, double dig at a decent rate, work outdoors in all weather, do their turn at weekend watering, and in one case be able to handle finding the cremated remains of past visitors (some folks that love a certain garden ask their relatives to scatter their remains there when the die - which sometimes means just pouring them into a flower bed when nobody is looking), etc. are at least as important. PHEW !!! Thanks for sticking with this post hopefully I and other potential students will find the responses useful in the future. -- je71 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk Michael Saunby |
well to be honest, I work full time as a computer engineer and I've hit that stage in my life that I want to do spmething more constructive, rewarding, and generally more outside! The problem is I have a mortgage so I need to earn an income whilst I gain experience, hence I thought a distance learing cousre would at least give me the credibility to apply for jobs with local councils, NT etc. Once employed I guess thats where my REAL training would begin.
But if anybody knows a better way .... |
Horticulture Courses
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^W^W^W^W uk.rec.gardening, I
heard Michael Saunby say... I have recently been looking at at acourse offered by he The Insitute of Gardening. Their web address is http://www.inst.org/garden/index.htm they offer a course which follows the RHS general eaxam and it seems to be well suited for what I need, however. Have you checked if local colleges offer suitable courses? Although in decline I expect most counties still have an agricultural/horticultural college. I am currently doing a National Certificate in Horticulture at Warwickshire College (and considering going on to do a second year to get the National Diploma). Although the NC course has no element of work experience, there is a reasonable practical content. The ND has a work experience module (I think it's 22 weeks). The disadvantage of doing a full time (some colleges manage to fit it into a 3 day week) course is that you don't have a lot of time for earning money for large portions of the time. But, it's probably a lot cheaper in fees than a private college. IIRC, our place does the RHS general course as an evening class. Again, this would be cheaper than a private college and you get more chance to interact with the tutor / other students than doing a correspondence course. You can find availability of courses in your area through the Learndirect site www.learndirect.co.uk Several of the students in my class are doing volunteer work in the gardens at one of the local National Trust places and a few more have got part time / holiday jobs with horticultural businesses. What do you want to do with your qualification? If you want to go into amenity horticulture, it may be worth contacting your local council or checking their website to see what qualifications are required for a job with them. Useful associated qualifications are FIPA (pesticide use) and a chain saw licence. A lot of employers like them but prefer not to have to pay for your training. -- Fenny Fictitious Facts of the Day - from a list by Andrew Burford #216: There are stocks of cold rice pudding and tapioca left over from World War II - these are still used to quell the masses in schools across Britain today. |
Horticulture Courses
"je71" wrote in message s.com... well to be honest, I work full time as a computer engineer and I've hit that stage in my life that I want to do spmething more constructive, rewarding, and generally more outside! The problem is I have a mortgage so I need to earn an income whilst I gain experience, hence I thought a distance learing cousre would at least give me the credibility to apply for jobs with local councils, NT etc. Once employed I guess thats where my REAL training would begin. I think you'd probably get better value from a part time course for RHS General at your local agricultural college. The syllabus is very broad so it will be quite demanding. No courses offer sufficient practical so it would be a big help to you if you could get some work experience even if only as a volunteer. You're right the learning really starts when you start working. Rod |
Horticulture Courses
je71 wrote:
well to be honest, I work full time as a computer engineer and I've hitthat stage in my life that I want to do spmething more constructive,rewarding, and generally more outside! The problem is I have a mortgageso I need to earn an income whilst I gain experience, hence I thought adistance learing cousre would at least give me the credibility to applyfor jobs with local councils, NT etc. Once employed I guess thats wheremy REAL training would begin. Possibly, buyt they are more likly to give a junior position to an HND Student than with someone who has just done a postal course.. Best bet.. Start gardening now;-) Start reading all the books on Horticultural and Gardening in your local library!-) Read URG!-) DO a course with some practical content.. Mebbe get a weekend job in Horticulture,.. there are various fields, retail, amenity, crop production. those are the main 3. Amenity is Local councils, etc. Retail is garden centre and related. Crop production is that, food crops, glasshouse work, cut flowers etc.. Of course there is some crossover between the 3. There are also now specialist courses such as Organic Horticulture or Biodynamic Growing at University level. There is always voluntary work for experience.. OK it doesn't pay, but you might be able to get a bit of paper to say you did it, and you might actually help improve a community garden or something whilst learning skills. Whcih course you do is up to you, the basic levels include City & Guilds, RHS, and NC's.. I don't think theres a NVQ or GNVQ for Horticulture.. Differnt courses run different syllabus's (syllabi??) so check these out before you sign up.. Eg some specify at a low level (eg NC in Amenity Horticulture) Some don't.. If you know WHAT exactly you wish to do do a specific course, if not get one that covers a broader spectrum Most of the above can be done at one of the Land based industries colleges around the UK, part time or full time. www.ucas.ac.uk is useful.. see under Horticulture.. Most of the courses are undergrad level upwards but if you check out the individual course details you will wsee that most of the institutions concerned also run shorter lower level courses?? Where in the UK are you anyway? Jim (HND Hort. UCLANC, FWIW!-)) |
Horticulture Courses
"je71" wrote in message s.com... well to be honest, I work full time as a computer engineer and I've hit that stage in my life that I want to do spmething more constructive, rewarding, and generally more outside! The problem is I have a mortgage so I need to earn an income whilst I gain experience, hence I thought a distance learing cousre would at least give me the credibility to apply for jobs with local councils, NT etc. Once employed I guess thats where my REAL training would begin. But if anybody knows a better way .... If it were me I'd probably go for "portfolio working", and keep the other job for the winter. There's a lot of seasonal demand for gardening work, and if you've got something else to do during the lean times you'll probably make more money - and spend less time with a cold and chilblains. Michael Saunby |
Horticulture Courses
The message m
from je71 contains these words: I work full time as a computer engineer and I've hit that stage in my life that I want to do spmething more constructive, rewarding, and generally more outside! The problem is I have a mortgage so I need to earn an income whilst I gain experience, hence I thought a distance learing cousre would at least give me the credibility to apply for jobs with local councils, NT etc. Many NT gardens have volunteers like me working for them, under instruction and supervision from the professional staff. Hours are whatever you can offer, so you could probably fit that in around your other job to see if you like the work enough (and are physically fit enough) to do it full-time. Since you have a mortgage to consider, you might also want to check out your potential future income. The local NT garden here has just advertised for a permanent, full-time, qualified and experienced gardener. Salary under £12,000 pa. Janet. |
Horticulture Courses
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^W^W^W^W uk.rec.gardening, I
heard Janet Baraclough say... Since you have a mortgage to consider, you might also want to check out your potential future income. The local NT garden here has just advertised for a permanent, full-time, qualified and experienced gardener. Salary under £12,000 pa. This is one of the things that I have to think about, as I am also paying a mortgage and have reasonably high fixed outgoings. It's a really nice idea to pack in the manky alleged 37.5 hr/week job and go do something more interesting instead, but you need to work out the financial side of it first. -- Fenny Fictitious Facts of the Day - from a list by Andrew Burford #92: The prison in Prisoner: Cell Block H is actually shaped like the letter 'W'. |
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Horticulture Courses
je71 wrote:
[color=blue] Jim W wrote: *je71 wrote: Possibly, buyt they are more likly to give a junior position to an HND Student than with someone who has just done a postal course.. Best bet.. Start gardening now;-) Start reading all the books on Horticultural and Gardening in your local library!-) Read URG!-) Showing up my noviceness! Whats URG? DO a course with some practical content.. Mebbe get a weekend job in Horticulture,.. there are various fields, retail, amenity, crop production. those are the main 3. Amenity is Local councils, etc. Retail is garden centre and related. Crop production is that, food crops, glasshouse work, cut flowers etc.. Of course there is some crossover between the 3. There are also now specialist courses such as Organic Horticulture or Biodynamic Growing at University level. There is always voluntary work for experience.. OK it doesn't pay, but you might be able to get a bit of paper to say you did it, and you might actually help improve a community garden or something whilst learning skills. Whcih course you do is up to you, the basic levels include City & Guilds, RHS, and NC's.. I don't think theres a NVQ or GNVQ for Horticulture.. Differnt courses run different syllabus's (syllabi??) so check these out before you sign up.. Eg some specify at a low level (eg NC in Amenity Horticulture) Some don't.. If you know WHAT exactly you wish to do do a specific course, if not get one that covers a broader spectrum Most of the above can be done at one of the Land based industries colleges around the UK, part time or full time. www.ucas.ac.uk is useful.. see under Horticulture.. Most of the courses are undergrad level upwards but if you check out the individual course details you will wsee that most of the institutions concerned also run shorter lower level courses?? Where in the UK are you anyway? I'm in weston super mare (whos college does not offer ANY horticulture courses!) I think following on from a lot of good advice here, my goals are changing somewhat, I think I may try to get on a classroom based course Cannington college isnt too far and they do a BTEC First Diploma in Horticulture maybe i could then progress on to BTEC National Diploma in Horticulture (Garden Design ) in the mean time try to get some work "Labouring" for a landscape gardener which seems to be the more lucrative area, then hopefully become a garden designer who can also offer to do the Hard landscaping side of things as well as the planting! Does this sound feasable to you? The BTEC ND 'should' 1st Dip should contain some practical and the ND almost certainly does.. Depending on the college the ND may even contain some work experience,.. The way courses are run differs a bit from college to college so try and find a student who has done the courses before at that college (preferably a student 'not' offered by the college), get hold of the prospectus and ask lots of Q's.. But in short its a good a place to start as any and get a feel for what you might wish to pursue in detail later. // J |
Horticulture Courses
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^W^W^W^W uk.rec.gardening, I
heard je71 say... I'm in weston super mare (whos college does not offer ANY horticulture courses!) I think following on from a lot of good advice here, my goals are changing somewhat, I think I may try to get on a classroom based course Cannington college isnt too far and they do a BTEC First Diploma in Horticulture maybe i could then progress on to BTEC National Diploma in Horticulture (Garden Design ) in the mean time try to get some work "Labouring" for a landscape gardener which seems to be the more lucrative area, then hopefully become a garden designer who can also offer to do the Hard landscaping side of things as well as the planting! Does this sound feasable to you? The First Diploma is aimed at kids who haven't got the requisite 4 Cs at GCSE to get onto a National Certificate or National Diploma course. Don't waste your time on this, but go straight for the NC (1 year) or ND (2 years with work experience). Find out what optional units the college offers in addition to the core subjects. I'm doing Landscape Construction, Design (additional to the compulsory design unit) and CAD as options, which should give me the grounding I want, but our place also offers Rock & Water, Sports Turf Management and Landscape Ecology as options. -- Fenny Fictitious Facts of the Day - from a list by Andrew Burford #230: All the stock for cooking in the entire world is made at Stockholm. |
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