Gardening and horticulture courses

Some people learn gardening for their own garden, and some to make a living from it. A person can take a college course, start an apprenticeship, or study with a professional body. The apprenticeship and funding rules on this page are for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each run their own apprenticeships.

College courses

The National Careers Service says a person could take a course in gardening or horticulture to learn some of the skills and knowledge the work needs. The courses it gives as examples are:

For a level 3 course, the National Careers Service says a learner will usually need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or an equivalent.

RHS qualifications

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) describes itself as the UK's gardening charity. It awards its own qualifications, and it approves colleges, gardens, employers and other providers to teach them. The RHS says a learner must enrol with one of those approved centres to study for an RHS qualification.

The RHS calls Level 2 the ideal starting point, both for people who want to work in professional horticulture and for people who garden for their own interest. The RHS says there are no entry requirements at Level 2. At Level 3, some centres ask learners to hold RHS Level 2 or an equivalent.

The RHS says courses usually run part time over the academic year, starting in September. Some centres also take a new intake in the New Year. A learner studying by distance learning can enrol at any time of year.

Several centres teach the RHS theory qualifications online. The practical qualification is hands on, so the RHS says a learner must enrol at an approved centre to take it.

Apprenticeships

GOV.UK says an apprenticeship combines practical training in a job with study. An apprentice is an employee who earns a wage and gets holiday pay. GOV.UK says an apprentice gets time for training and study of at least 20% of their normal working hours.

To start an apprenticeship in England, GOV.UK says a person must be:

The National Careers Service lists three horticulture apprenticeships:

Free courses for adults in England

GOV.UK says an adult in England aged 19 or over could apply for a free level 3 qualification. Horticulture and forestry is one of the subjects on its list. To qualify, GOV.UK says the adult must earn below a set amount, which it publishes, or be unemployed.

GOV.UK says some areas have slightly different rules about earnings and the qualifications a person already holds. It suggests checking those rules with a local training provider.

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