Garden centre assistant

Garden centre assistants sell plants, flowers, tools and garden equipment. Assistants care for plants, arrange attractive displays, keep a check on stock, deal with sales and give advice to customers. Some assistants work in nurseries, growing plants as well as selling them.

Work activities

Garden centre assistants have lots of different tasks, including:

Sowing seeds.
Potting.
Trimming and pruning.
Spraying plants to kill pests and diseases.
Watering.
Stocking shelves and arranging displays.
Tidying up.

Assistants spend their time either outside around the centre, or inside the centre’s shop or department area. Inside, they deal with sales by taking cash and credit card payments from customers. Assistants help customers to find what they want and give them information, for example, on how best to care for a type of plant. In plant nurseries, assistants might grow new plants from cuttings or by grafting. Other duties include mixing compost, sowing seeds and planting bulbs, as well as general care for the plants. Some plant nurseries use sophisticated computers to control watering, light, temperature and humidity. The assistant might have to make regular checks on the system to make sure it is working well. Garden centre assistants might use equipment like mowers and rotavators, as well as hand tools such as trowels. They might also have to use chemical fertilisers and liquid feeds. This means they have to follow health and safety rules, and wear protecting clothing like gloves and boots for some jobs.

Personal qualities and skills

To be a garden centre assistant, you’ll need:

To enjoy working with plants.
The ability to learn about different types of plant, including where they grow best and how to care for them.
To enjoy working outside in all types of weather.
Physical fitness – the job involves lifting, carrying and digging.
Practical skills, and adaptability to do lots of different tasks.
Customer service skills. You need to be friendly and helpful, and able to give clear advice.
Number skills for taking payments, giving change and keeping records of stock levels.

Pay and opportunities

The pay rates given are approximate. Garden centre assistants earn in the range of £19,500 a year, rising to £24,000 a year.

Garden centre assistants usually work a basic 40-45-hour week. However, working hours may include evening/weekend work during busy periods (for example, they work longer hours during spring, autumn and at Christmas).

Employers are garden centres and the garden centre departments of large DIY stores. Opportunities for garden centre workers occur in garden centres in towns, cities and rural areas throughout the UK.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in local newspapers, at Jobcentre Plus, on the Government’s Find a Job service, and on general and horticultural job boards.

Entry routes and training

People usually start work and have training on-the-job. Some people go into jobs after completing a full-time college course in horticulture. You can decide to go to college to take a full-time course in horticulture, before looking for a job. Edexcel (BTEC) and City & Guilds Land Based Services provides relevant qualifications.

You could also qualify by doing an level 2 (intermediate) apprenticeship in the role of horticulture or landscape construction operative. This way, you will train on the job while working towards relevant qualifications to support your work.

Students who already have some practical experience can apply for short-term voluntary role with the RHS. You’d get the chance to work in an RHS garden while learning basic gardening skills and techniques. Please see the RHS website for more information.

Many employers give training on-the-job, under the supervision of an experienced assistant. The RHS offers training opportunities at some of its gardens. These take the form of paid work experience combined with study towards RHS qualifications.

Depending on the size of the garden centre, promotion could be to a supervisor or team leader role. With further experience and, usually, qualifications (such as a foundation degree, HND or degree), it might be possible to work your way up to a management-level post.

Qualifications

There are no set qualifications for becoming a garden centre assistant. However, it’s useful to have some GCSEs, for example, in English, maths and science, or another relevant equivalent qualification. A horticultural qualification can be an advantage.

If you wish to enter this career through an intermediate apprenticeship, you will need GCSEs in English and maths, although you may be able to complete these alongside your programme.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Some entrants have developed relevant skills and knowledge through work experience, for example, in agriculture, forestry, customer service or retail. Some entrants have experience in gardening or other outdoor work, either paid or unpaid.

Colleges will usually consider applications from adults who don’t meet their usual entry requirements. You should check the admissions policy of individual colleges. Distance learning is offered by the Horticultural Correspondence College, with a Garden Centre certificate. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) website includes a list of organisations that provide distance learning options leading to RHS qualifications. You can search for relevant courses on the website of Lantra, the sector skills council for the land-based and environmental sector.

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