Employability Skills in

Horticulture

Employability Skills in

Horticulture

Objective: Describe skills needed for employment and careers in the horticulture

industry.

What is Horticulture?

• Horticulture comes from the Latin words hortus which means “garden” and cultorum which means “cultivation”.

• Horticulture is the cultivation, processing and marketing of flowers, ornamental plants, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Divisions of Horticulture

• Fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants• Floriculture• Landscape and nursery industry• Olericulture• Pomology

Floriculture

• Floriculture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, designing, and marketing flowering plants.

Landscape and Nursery

• Landscape and nursery industry is the science and practice of propagation, growing, planting, maintaining and using grasses, annuals, shrubs and trees.

Olericulture

• Olericulture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing vegetables.

Pomology

• Pomology is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing tree grown fruits.

Importance of Horticulture• Horticulture has three main areas of

importance.• Economic• Aesthetic• Environmental

Economic Importance

• The horticulture industry puts over $25 billion dollars into the U.S. economy annually.• Provides jobs• Produces food (fruits,

vegetables, nuts)• Increases value of homes

through landscaping

Aesthetic value (appearance)• Improves the appearance of homes

and buildings through landscaping

• Improves the appearance of land from fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops grown.

Environmental

• Includes health and comfort• cleans air• prevents erosion• provides shade• nutrition

What are some jobs in horticulture?

Greenhouse Employee

• Grows vegetables and flowers including• cut flowers• bedding plants• potted plants• hanging baskets

• Performs both sexual and asexual propagation of plants

Nursery Employee

• Grows seedlings and plants for landscaping, replanting in forests, or producing fruit

Garden Center Employee

• Cares for plants• moves plants and supplies• arranges and displays plants and

supplies• sells plants and supplies

Grounds Maintenance Employee• Cares for the land area and plants

that surround a business, school, church, industry or other public or private places that have lawns and plants that have to be maintained

Golf Course Employee

• Responsible for maintenance of:• golf course including turfgrass• irrigation and drainage• sand trap• trees and shrubs• buildings and equipment

Park Employee

• Maintains plants, grounds, buildings, facilities, equipment and driveways in national, state, city or privately owned parks

What qualifications do I need to work in

the horticulture industry?

Skills

Skills vary from unskilled to highly skilled depending on the career in horticulture. A materials handler needs few skills, but an inspector needs many skills to check for quality, for insects or diseases or for following governmental rules.

Personal Interests and Qualifications• Before seeking a job one must

consider:• Work inside or outside or a combination• Work in a group or alone• Work with people or plants• Work at routine tasks or varying jobs• Physical strength to do the job

Educational Qualifications

• Educational qualifications vary depending on the careers• High school graduate or less for

unskilled entry-level jobs• Technical degree for skilled jobs• Bachelors, masters or doctorate degree

for most professional areas because of required licenses, paperwork, research and/or teaching

Career Outlook

• Outlook for the horticulture industry is expected to grow because of the increase in population and new home construction.

I see plants in your future!