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Horticulture Apprentice Crop Technician
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Apprenticeship: Crop Technician
About the Role
As an Apprentice Crop Technician, you will learn all aspects of producing potted plants. You will rotate through placements in propagation, potting, growing, and despatch teams to competently perform the standard tasks, to understand the different roles and how the teams interact to produce high-quality plants.
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What You'll Do at Work
- Reporting to the Technical Manager and supported day to day by site supervisors and the wider team
- Quarterly placements within each team
- The first year focused on developing the practical skills required within each team
Propagation
- Taking and sticking cuttings
- Trimming stock plants to produce cutting material to schedule
- Sowing seed
Potting
- Preparing plugs for potting
- Working on potting line
- Laying plants down in growing areas
Growing
- Monitoring crops in set area
- Irrigation
- Pest and disease checks
- Monitoring the environment
- Ensuring cultural activities carried out to agreed standard including trimming, weeding, feeding, spacing, spraying (qualification part of apprenticeship programme)
Despatch
- Selecting plants that fulfil specification
- Working on line to prepare plant to optimum condition and insert carecard
- Loading trolleys
The second year’s rotation designed to challenge, to build on the first year knowledge and achieve greater depth.
Where practical this may include some tasks with additional responsibility and/or leading small teams.
Where You'll Work
- Binsted Nursery
- Lake Lane
- Barnham
- West Sussex
- PO22 0AL
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training Provider
WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
Training Course
Crop Technician (level 3)
What You'll Learn
Course Contents
- Identify and mitigate risks to promote and maintain health, safety, and security. (Core)
- Manage accurate paper or digital records within the workplace. (Core)
- Maintain and operate machinery and equipment in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Maximise economic sustainability by optimising plant growth when carrying out operations. (Core)
- Establish crops to ensure efficient and sustainable growth. (Core)
- Operate vehicles in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Control pests, weeds, and diseases using integrated pest management. (Core)
- Apply and store pest management treatments in accordance with standard operating procedures, legislation, and regulations. (Core)
- Carry out plant nutrient application or irrigation tasks required by the crop. (Core)
- Carry out harvesting and dispatch operations. (Core)
- Assess and monitor crops for quality, performance, and specification requirements. (Core)
- Select harvesting techniques taking account of crop condition and quality requirements. (Core)
- Maintain biosecurity and hygiene practices in line with legislation, regulations, and organisational requirements. (Core)
- Keep harvested crops in suitable conditions to maintain quality. (Core)
- Maintain soils or substrates to ensure sustainable, efficient, and healthy growth. (Core)
- Sample and evaluate soil or substrate health to determine nutrition requirements. (Core)
- Comply with health and safety legislation, regulations, guidelines, and procedures relevant to own role. (Core)
- Participate in learning and CPD activities. (Core)
- Manage own time to achieve tasks to schedule. (Core)
- Consider different approaches to current working practices, identifying improvements, developments, and innovative ideas. (Core)
- Set and monitor machinery performance to ensure good seed or plant establishment and crop growth. (Soil based)
- Set machinery and equipment taking into account the crop, environment, soil condition, and specification requirements. (Soil based)
- Maintain non-productive areas. (Soil based)
- Assess the impact of machinery on soil structure and identify potential damage in accordance with legislation. (Soil based)
- Optimise growth conditions for crops, based on the specific needs of the plant relative to the environment. (Container based)
- Maintain productive and non-productive areas. (Container based)
- Plan for and carry out the removal of waste materials following harvest or dispatch. (Container based)
- Evaluate and select different growing mediums taking into account site conditions and production requirements. (Container based)
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Training Schedule
Level 2 Awards in:
- Safe Use of Pesticides
On completion of the pesticides foundation unit above also choose one of the following units:
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- Boom sprayer, mounted, trailed, or self-propelled equipment
- Granular applicator equipment
- Handheld applicator equipment
Level 3 award in Emergency First Aid at Work
Candidates Aged 16-18 must have GCSE English and maths at Grade 4/C or above (if taking GCSEs this year, predicted grades must be at Pass level for maths and English).
For candidates Aged 19+ (without GCSE English and maths), WCG will assess on an individual basis.
Essential Qualifications
- GCSE in:
- English, Maths (grade C/4+)
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Number skills
- Team working
- Initiative
- Patience
- Physical fitness
Other Requirements
You will be working at two sites:
- Binsted Nursery, Lake Lane, Barnham, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO22 0AL.
- Binsted Nursery, Binsted Lane, Binsted, West Sussex, BN18 0LL.
Role involves working outside or under protected greenhouse structures where temperatures fluctuate with ambient weather conditions through the year. Need to be reasonably fit as role involves manual labour and walking around large sites. All crops are grown on the floor, regular bending to undertake essential tasks.
About the Company
Binsted Nurseries Limited, part of the Farplants Group, are a market-leading customer-focused organisation producing and supplying high-quality potted herbs, bulbs, and ornamental garden plants to the wholesale market. Binsted Nursery was founded in 1978. We are based in West Sussex with 2 production sites.
http://www.farplants.co.uk (opens in new tab)
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
Career Progression
Production Team Leader or Supervisor in Production, Despatch, or Propagation, or a member of the Growing Team.
Contact Information
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
- WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
- SARAH ASHMORE
- Email: sashmore@warwickshire.ac.uk
- Phone: 07740419319
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000042097.
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