UK College launches horticulture careers campaign

Writtle College has reignited the debate on young people in horticulture with its careers campaign video

Writtle College has launched a new careers campaign aimed at showing young people where horticulture can take graduates

Horticulture

Read More: Careers College Education Horticulture

5 August 2015

Attracting young people to horticulture has been a key aim for many within the industry for some time now. Last week Writtle College launched a campaign aimed at promoting the many different areas a horticulture student can end up working in once they have graduated.

The campaign, which reignited the debate on young people and horticulture on social media over the weekend, is being supported by many international organisations including The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Lantra, British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI), Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIoH) and GROW.

The infographic-style animation aims to make the subject area more appealing to a younger audience and communicate the diverse nature of the industry. The short video actively highlights the many areas that a horticulture graduate can find themselves working in, many of which may not be immediately very obvious to young people.

Commenting on the new campaign Dr Owen Doyle, President-Elect of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture (Great Britain and Ireland) and council member of the International Society of Horticultural Science, said “It is great to see a really fresh approach to describing horticulture, one which broadens the understanding of horticulture as a profession beyond the confines of a garden!”

On the video Craig Emery, marketing manager at Writtle College, said “People are always surprised to see the range of careers available to students after they have completed a horticulture course. A lot of the younger generation may view horticulture as purely gardening, but it is so much more than that.”

Emery added “As long as a student has a passion and drive to make a difference, then the world of horticulture is open to them. There is a huge demand for people within the industry. Hopefully this campaign will change a few perceptions and encourage more people to consider it as a career path after school or college.”

Writtle College has been providing horticultural education for over 120 years and was awarded Taught-Degree Awarding Powers in March. The college has already released the first instalment of the “Writtle Futures” campaign earlier in 2015 with the launch of an agriculture video. The overall aim of the campaign is to increase awareness and change perceptions of the land-based industries.