A career at Hillier provides the opportunity to work for one of the UK’s leading horticultural businesses that supports growth and encourages achievement. These exciting new apprenticeships offer students the opportunity to gain experience in a chosen field alongside their studies, providing them with the tools required to progress and grow throughout their career.
The launch of the new apprenticeships comes following Hillier becoming an accredited Government Employer Training provider earlier this year as part of the company’s new Learning and Development department.
There will be a variety of different Hillier Apprenticeships to choose from across various divisions in the company including Horticulture, Hospitality, Supply Chain Operative, Retail, Customer service, and Management.
Championing and supporting future generations within horticulture is at the core of the company and Hillier is working in partnership with Pershore College, a national center for horticulture, to provide its Level 3 Crop Technician apprenticeship. Retail and hospitality are equally important sectors at Hillier, as their customers are at the forefront of everything they do. Therefore apprenticeships are being offered in these areas as well as they pride themselves on the quality of service provided. The apprenticeships available currently start from Level 2 and range in duration between 12 and 24 months.
They are:
- Customer Service Practitioner – Level 2
- Retailer Apprenticeship – Level 2
- Retail Team Leader Apprenticeship – Level 3
- Team Leader/ Supervisor – Level 3
- Crop Technician Apprenticeship – Level 3
- Hospitality Team Member Apprenticeship – Level 2
- Production Chef Apprenticeship – Level 2
Hillier already has many success stories with its apprenticeships, helping current employees grow and succeed through their employment with the company. One of these is George Bailey (pictured above) , who began his career at Hillier through work experience, before advancing to a Level 3 Crop Technician apprentice. Since completing his apprenticeship, George has gained the necessary skills to move into a professional Grower role on the nursery. Discussing his experience and Hillier apprenticeships, George commented: “An apprenticeship with Hillier really enables you to enjoy hands on involvement right at the heart of the company. For anyone looking for an apprenticeship, Hillier is the place to be!”
Another Hillier apprentice who has progressed through the ranks is Toby Fielding (left) who joined Hillier in 2015 as a General Assistant and went on the complete the Retail Team Leader apprenticeship before taking on his current position of Shop Manager. Toby commented: “The apprenticeship was instrumental in helping develop my managerial skills by teaching the knowledge as well as how to implement the skills in your current work environment. I plan to use the apprenticeship to continue my development towards being a Garden Centre Manager and further develop the skills of my team.”
Emma Fell, Head of Learning and Development at Hillier, commented: “An apprenticeship at Hillier is the first step onto a road to success and can lead to a fantastic and fulfilling career. We’ve got some great examples of previous apprentices who have gone on to great things within the company, so it’s brilliant to now be able to offer this as an accredited provider. We are continuously expanding and innovating and therefore the opportunities at Hillier are endless as our business grows.”
If you are interested in finding out more information about the Hillier apprenticeship you can visit their website at www.hillier.co.uk/careers/apprenticeships or email talent@hillier.co.uk.
For further information, visit www.hillier.co.uk, find Hillier Garden Centres on Facebook, or @Hilliergardencentres on Instagram.
