1. What has been your greatest achievement and what made it so special?
I’ve had so many personal achievements but what stands out was my time working at a garden centre. I enjoyed it tremendously, especially propagating the plants and being in charge of different aspects of the business.
2. What else would you like to achieve?
The only thing on my mind I would like to achieve now is attacking my own garden! Having just moved into a new house, the garden was a little wild to say the least; I’m on a mission to tame it and landscape it.
3. What did you want to be when you were a child?
Like any other child, when I was very young I wanted to be the usual nurse/doctor/vet but as I matured into secondary school I remember wanting to be a forensic scientist (too many murder mysteries on TV at the time!).
4. How did you find school?
I enjoyed junior school a lot but when I went into secondary school we moved and so I was kind of the outsider for the first few years. While this wasn’t perhaps good socially it certainly made me work hard and achieve my grades.
5. What put you on your current path?
I was doing a Saturday job at the local garden centre and I really enjoyed working there. Being outside and doing something hands-on was great for me so I then began studying towards a BTEC qualification in Amenity Horticulture.
6. How has your BTEC qualification helped you get where you are today?
I thought the BTEC qualification was fantastic in the sense that it was designed to be broad and so didn’t focus on any one aspect too much. This made it flexible for me to use in the future and didn’t set me on one particular path too early.
7. Did learning both practically and at college make a positive difference?
Learning hands-on is very much me and so yes the practical side of the BTEC qualification, in particular the Maintenance aspect made a positive difference. Although Horticulture was definitely the right path for me, looking back I now feel I would’ve rather wanted to study a more landscape/design-based qualification.
8. Would you recommend vocational qualifications?
I think people should be honest with themselves; too many people are going to University even if they are not academically-minded. Practical qualifications are fantastic for a lot of people so for those people I would definitely recommend vocational qualifications.
9. Did your course provide you with the skills necessary to get on in a career in horticulture?
Yes, the fact that the BTEC was broad was great which meant I didn’t have to specialise too early on but allowed me to use the skills gained during the course in my future career. I still keep in touch with many people from my class and the broadness of the qualification meant we are now set on a variety of paths. For instance one friend works in hotel maintenance in the West Indies, others for local authorities etc.
10. What advice would you give to school and college leavers?
I’m definitely in favour of taking time out at 18 if you’re not sure what you want to do. Get some work experience under your belt; try different things before you chose what you’re going to study. Also if you’re not sure what you’re after, don’t box yourself in too early on – keep your options open.
