Professional Work Placement (PWP) in Ornamental Horticulture

Are you enthusiastic about horticulture? Have you already completed (or are studying for) a Level 2 horticultural theory qualification and have at least 3 months practical experience? Are you interested in specialising and completing a Level 3 Award to further your career?

Our Professional Work Placement programme is a one-year paid work experience placement for horticulturists who wish to specialise. Applicants should have already completed (or be studying for) a Level 2 Horticultural theory qualification or apprenticeship standard and have 3 months (minimum) full time practical experience in the industry at application.

As part of the Professional Work Placement programme successful applicants will study for the new RHS Level 3 Award in Horticultural Investigation qualification. To be eligible applicants must not hold or be studying for a Level 3 Diploma (or equivalent) in Horticulture or above.

The placement provides the opportunity to spend a full year immersed in a particular garden department, studying a specific group of plants, garden practice or style whilst completing a Level 3 Award. You will gain knowledge, experience, skills and training in your specialism, in a work-based context, to prepare you for professional life in the industry.

This placement covers all aspects of Ornamental Horticulture and allows you to learn seasonal skills and techniques to enhance and maintain our spectacular ornamental plantings, from our formal Herbaceous Border to our naturalistic plantings on Clover Hill, for the benefit of our visitors.

Curatorial team, working in Ornamental Horticulture.

This placement focuses on the main ornamental garden areas at RHS Garden Hyde Hall which includes the naturalistic plantings of perennials and grasses on Clover Hill as well as the soft, natural feeling planting of the Birch Grove which contrast with the formal, crisp lines of the Modern Courtyard Garden and the overflowing, soft and romantic planting in the Cottage Garden during the summer months. In the Hilltop Garden you will work in the Modern Rose Garden and on the Herbaceous Border with its formal structures and intricate planting as well as through the mixed plantings in the island beds.

This will give you a chance to learn and gain practical experience in a range of horticultural maintenance tasks and techniques working alongside experienced Horticulturists and Team Leaders whose vast experience you can learn from. This intensive work experience placement will teach you how to ensure that these varied areas of the Garden always look their best.

This is also your chance to develop your plant knowledge and experiences of working with plants, as you will have access to a large and diverse plant collection and dedicated staff with fantastic plant knowledge that ranges from arid loving plants in the Mediterranean inspired Dry Garden, to the new modern and dynamic Winter Garden and unusual, textural plants in the Australian Border.

During the placement you will complete horticultural research culminating in a project write up and submission for the RHS Level 3 Award in Horticultural Investigation which will be funded by the RHS. Candidates completing the Level 3 qualification will be allocated a Project Supervisor who will support you and advise on the project write up. In order to achieve the qualification, you will be required to attend several online sessions (either live or recordings) over a period of 9 months, submit a project write up and complete a professional discussion.

The RHS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all personnel to share in this commitment. We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

To work for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is to join a thriving charity, whose mission is to be there for everyone on their lifelong adventure with gardening. Everything we do is built on the transformational power of gardening - and the benefits it brings to people, places and our planet. And we couldn't do this without our people. We're proud of the knowledge, enthusiasm and ideas that each one of our team members brings. From working across our social media channels, to volunteering in the RHS Gardens, from serving customers in our garden centres to running national marketing campaigns, we believe that every member of the RHS team should have the opportunity to make a difference.