UK / Horticultural Industry Skills Gap: more than 70 per cent of companies struggling

A new study from some of Britian’s leading horticultural organisations has revealed a serious lack of skilled workers in the horticultural industry, with more than 70 per cent of companies struggling to find skilled workers.

More than 80 per cent of businesses surveyed said they believed that the poor reputation of horticultural jobs with young people as low-paid and low-skilled was behind the problem.

In a foreword to the report, Mr Titchmarsh said that gardeners’ work was “undervalued by Government, by the population and by young people in particular – in every instance because they just do not understand the breadth of what we do and its importance in terms of the wellbeing of the planet and its population”.

He urged gardeners to help “demonstrate that those involved in horticulture are not thick, or dull, or unadventurous or simply incapable of doing anything else. We do this because we know that this is the best and most rewarding job in the world.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

 Alan Titchmarsh: ‘Gardening jobs are not for the thick or dull’ – Telegraph.