Apprenticeships update

The apprenticeship in horticulture is now up and running in the Teagasc College in the National Botanic Gardens

Teagasc welcomes 37 new apprentices to its Level 6 Higher Certificate in horticulture, with strong industry interest continuing across Ireland

Careers

27 August 2026

The new Level 6 Higher Cert Horticulture Apprenticeship has been up and running at the Teagasc College in the National Botanic Gardens Glasnevin for the past three years and August 2026 sees the fourth new class intake.

This programme is part of the SOLAS Generation apprenticeship programme, which is an exciting avenue for young people to progress their route to qualifications through applied learning combining both college and work-based elements.

Interest across the industry has been very strong again this year and Teagasc welcomed apprentices from both the amenity and the commercial side of horticulture from all four provinces in Ireland.

This year Teagasc commenced the programme with 37 apprentices from sectors including landscaping, gardens and parks, veg, and garden centres.

In the group there are 29 male and 8 female apprentices with a good mix of school leavers and existing employees of SOLAS registered approved employers in the horticulture sector.

Apprentices will attend the Horticulture College in Teagasc Botanics for 50 days block release in year 1 and the same in year 2 resulting in the awarding of a Higher Certificate level 6 qualification when all elements of the programme are complete while continuing to be employees of their companies across the two years.

At the college they will follow a syllabus of horticulture subjects centred around the fundamentals of plants and plant science in year 1 including health and safety and IT skills, and around the business of horticulture in year 2 with a major emphasis on what their employer is involved in.

Projects and assessments are all centred around the employer’s business and hence the applied nature of the learning. All apprentices are appointed a mentor at their employment also to aid their learning onsite.

To date there are over 110 registered approved employers in horticulture with SOLAS and Teagasc and that number is growing.

Apprentices are not just school leavers, they can be employees who have been loyal to the company and now see an opportunity to get a robust qualification while earning simultaneously.

The companies are a fundamental part of the training afforded to the apprentice and their involvement is closely aligned with the apprentice curriculum that is set down by Teagasc.

The great benefit to employers is that they get to share their knowledge with the apprentices and pass on their experiences to them in the workplace.

At this stage qualified apprentices in horticulture are now working and contributing to the industry in Ireland. In the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin there are records of apprentices being trained on the grounds over 200 years ago.

If you want to see the apprenticeship in action, Teagasc will be attending the World Skills Ireland event in the RDS from the 16th to the 18th September. This event gives a fantastic flavour of the breath of apprenticeships available to young people nowadays.

Teagasc’s second-year horticulture apprentices will be showcasing their knowledge through a garden construction project where their skills will be on display. The event is attended by upwards of 30000 leaving cert cycle students each year.

For further information on any of the above or any course in Teagasc at the Botanic Gardens contact:

John Mulhern (college principal at Teagasc Botanics) at john.mulhern@teagasc.ie
Paddy Smith (horticulture apprenticeship programme coordinator at Teagasc Botanics) at Paddy.Smith@teagasc.ie