Horticulture Trainee - Wisbech, United Kingdom - Volmary

Description

Background

Volmary specialises in the production and distribution of quality young plants and added value products across a wide range of ornamental plants including but far from limited to Fuchsia, Geranium and Petunias.

In addition, we grow a small but developing range of herbs and food crops.

Founded over 90 years ago, we pride ourselves in offering superior products and excellent customer service and in contributing to our local communities.

As part of the international production and distribution company Volmary Gmbh, our UK operation, Volmary Ltd, has a main facility in Wisbech St.

Mary in Cambridgeshire.

Our main site has 50 acres of land with 25 acres of efficient and modern production growing structures which have environmental computers to control temperature, ventilation, lighting, irrigation, and humidity to provide plants with optimal growing conditions.

The growing processes within the facilities are largely manual, relying on the skill and dexterity of years of collective horticultural experience but with the most high-tech equipment currently available.

The role

Our technical production team are responsible for the production of the plants we grow, ranging in age at sale from 3 weeks to 14 months.

This is a fast-paced environment where short term products are all about short term accuracy and volume management and longer-term products are about sustaining healthy plants for the long run with more complicated feeding and care regimes.

The focus of this area is the appropriate irrigation management, appropriate feeding programmes and very careful management of Pest and disease prevention and cure.

Our trainee roles are all about learning how to grow plants, how to manipulate them naturally to achieve specifications and when to use artificial means to modify their growth habits to achieve specific outcomes.

While as a trainee you will not directly have the access or qualifications to undertake every role required to achieve the goals of perfect plants, you'll be expected to work with technically qualified operators and learn the how and what of growing plants.

At times you'll be expected to "muck in" on busy days as part of a team when the dynamic nature of the business determines situational changes to, the planned work programme.

You'll work alongside technically qualified operators and have direct access the technical management team, who will guide and mentor you in the fine art of how plants are produced in a commercial setting and to a large scale.

You'll be expected to learn about how different plants have different requirements and how those requirements are delivered. We grow over 1500 varieties of plants, many with unique demands.

You will be moved around the business over 24 months to be exposed to the different parts of the growing and production centres, from watering and feeding to temperature regimes as well as the core production processes, we undertake such as sticking cuttings, potting plants, and the growing of hanging baskets.

What trainees can expect from us-

• 24 months permanent work where you will gain valuable experience of life in a horticultural business and of how teams come together to achieve goals.
• Access to our bespoke Horticultural training programme (programme starts July, further details below)
• National living wage plus holidays and bank holiday pay
• Dedicated HR department support for care and social welfare but also to assist in training and development
• Free parking
• Staff canteen
• A direct point of contact to monitor and help with your introduction to the workplace for your first 6 months.
• A comprehensive induction to the business, including health and safety expectations

What we expect from Trainees-

• Dedication to achieving the goals you are set, and a desire reflected in hard work to enter our Horticultural training programme. This will be a key part of the interview process.
• Excellent timekeeping and attendance
• Strong communication skills as you'll be part of a dynamic team in a fastmoving environment
• Attention to detail where your daily focus will be on living plants that must attain a specific quality for highly demanding customers.
• A presentable and tidy outlook both from a personal and workstyle perspective, although our environment is quite casual.
• Start times flexible relative to season but typically 7.30 a.m. to 16.15 pm with 45 minutes of breaks.

Our 2-year Horticultural technician training programme


Key Learning Objectives
Principles of Health and safety and understanding safe working practices

Safe operation of relevant horticultural machinery

Maintaining and storing records

Crop establishment

Crop management and achieving specifications

Manging water and nutrient in a growing crop

Managing pest and disease in a growing crop

Communication skills in a modern workplace environment

Basic costs of production and company expectations regarding profitability


Delivery