Horticultural Technician Apprenticeship
Humber College has a long history of education in horticulture and is one of the oldest training delivery agents for apprenticeship training in horticulture.
This intensive program stresses practical skills through applied study in the construction laboratory, greenhouse and the Humber Arboretum. The in-college component of the program is delivered as two winter semesters that coincides with the typical slowdown in the industry from November through March. What are the steps to Apprenticeship?
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Find an employer who is willing to train you in the field you want to apprentice in. Humber College does not find an employer for you.
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Once you find a company that will take you on as an apprentice you must contact The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities who will come to your place of employment and register you as an apprentice.
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Sign a contract of apprenticeship or training agreement with your employer and Training Consultant from the Apprenticeship Board of the Ontario government.
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Complete on the job training and the required working hours.
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Complete in-school training arranged by your Training Consultant at your assigned community college.
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Challenge and pass the trade certification exam and receive a grade of at least 70%.
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Receive your Certificate of Qualifications and journeyperson status.
In the Calendar
For more information on any of the following, please see the current Academic Calendar.
Career Opportunities
In Canada, where almost three quarters of Canadian households have a lawn or garden, large retailers sold over $2 billion worth of landscaping products, equipment and plants. Earn a living with your green thumb and construction skills in a range of growth industries such as design, horticulture, construction, maintenance, irrigation, lighting and lawn care. A complete list of job opportunities, career positions, and salaries is available at horttrades.com. Advantages of a career in horticulture and landscaping:
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Variety: as you can see from the list above there are many career opportunities in the horticultural field. Many landscape companies are small businesses where individuals assume or combine many of the roles/duties outlined above making each day interesting and diverse.
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Great Work Environment: you will be often working outdoors in settings that are healthy, beautiful and generally non-stressful.
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Self-employment: this is an industry where there are great opportunities to be your own boss and start a small business. Small companies are often very successful because of their ability to offer personal service, control product/job quality and maximize referrals by satisfied customers.
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Job Satisfaction: in an increasingly high-tech world this is a profession where you can gain great personal satisfaction from your day’s work: whether it is from transforming a neglected garden into a healthy beautiful one due to your horticultural skills, or from creating a beautiful deck using your skills and knowledge in construction.
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Lasting Legacy: this is a profession/industry which makes a lasting contribution to the quality of the environment by turning mundane sites into beautiful and functional gardens/landscapes, or transforming a bleak site or wasteland into a productive and aesthetically pleasing landscape. There is great satisfaction in leaving such a legacy.
Industry Demand
There is great demand for trained workers in the Landscape Horticulture industry due to the tremendous growth in the industry. The job placement rate of over 95% for graduates of our Landscape Technician Diploma Program and the increasing enrolment in the Horticultural Technician Apprenticeship Program are evidence of this demand.
Facilities & Equipment
Humber College has some of the best facilities for delivery of this type of education. The Humber Arboretum is a 250-acre botanical garden that surrounds the campus and includes ornamental gardens, woodland gardens, wildlife gardens, and ecologically diverse environments centred on the west branch of the Humber River. The Arboretum serves as a unique ‘living classroom’ for plant studies, construction, arboriculture and horticultural skills. Our new construction lab is housed in a weather protected 8000 square foot facility that allows construction of full-scale structures such as decks, gazebos, retaining walls, and water features. We also have excellent computer labs for teaching our CADD (computer aided design and drafting) courses.
Software & Technology
We teach Dynascape which is CADD software that is widely used in the landscape industry. Students can also access AutoCAD as an extra course. Even though CADD training is not part of the apprenticeship curriculum, apprentices can access this training either through our Continuing Education (CE) program or on a part-time basis through the Landscape Technician Diploma Program.
We are currently submitting a proposal for 6000 square feet of new state-of-the-art greenhouses that will further enhance our teaching capability.
Awards
Humber has a reputation for excellence and the students of the program have achieved numerous accomplishments over the years including:
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World Youth Day: in 2000 the program was invited to design and install the landscape for the stage for World Youth Day at which Pope John Paul delivered his televised sermon to hundreds of millions Catholic youth around the world. The students and staff of the pre-apprenticeship program completed the projecton time for this historic event located at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada.
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Casa Loma: students constructed customized planter boxes for this well known tourist attraction.
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Flora International, Montreal: staff and students (of the diploma and apprenticeship programs) designed and built an extensive garden as part of this outdoor garden exposition on the historic Old Port of Montreal in summer of 2007.
Faculty & Industry Experts
Learn more about our faculty.
