THE Horticulture Apprenticeship is aimed at young people aged 16-18, who are working as greenkeepers, in garden maintenance, at nurseries or as landscape gardeners and want to learn new skills while they are working and gain recognised qualifications.

The Apprenticeship in Amenity Horticulture enables staff to work to standards of industry best practice and achieve a nationally recognised qualification and teaches them the skills and knowledge to work with confidence.

Chris Smith is a Greenkeeping Apprentice at Henley on Thames. He has been doing the Apprenticeship since March 2010 and feels it is going well.

Chris welcomed the chance to be able to work at Henley Golf Club and do his Apprenticeship as he has always wanted to do it.

He said: “My assessor is a great help with my college work and Steve is brilliant at helping me while I am at work”.

Steve Shaw, head greenkeeper at Henley Golf Club, said: “It is important to place the right people in the right place and Chris is that person for us.

“He is reliable and very enthusiastic which is one of the key things in this industry. I was once a trainee and want to give others that same chance, we are responsible for bringing new people into the industry giving them the opportunity to train for the future.”

As an employer, Steve understands that it is important for young people to gain the right training and support and that learning whilst actually carrying out the job is a great way to achieve this.

Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) has been working alongside the grounds team at Henley Golf Club since 2003 to ensure its employees gain the training they need and the qualifications they desire. Henley Golf Club currently has one apprentice and has had three other apprentices train with BCA since 2003.

For Apprenticeship training, the delivery has to be truly responsive. It must fully meet the needs of the business, the employer and the employees. To ensure this BCA’s programmes are designed to meet these needs by flexible assessment visits and college times that suit.

BCA also actively seeks feedback from both apprentices and employers on how we can continue to improve programmes and meet their needs as it is important for employers to have minimal disruption to the day-to-day running of their businesses.