Horticulture must change its image to attract young people, green skills group will tell seminar

The horticulture industry must change its image and raise its profile if it wants to be an attractive career choice for young people, delegates will be told at a seminar this week.

Leigh Morris, chairman of the Green Skills Careers Marketing Initiative steering group, will outline the progress it has made so far and highlight further steps that need to be taken if youngsters are to consider horticulture as a career at an event on Wednesday (November 21).

The steering group, which was formed following last year's Green Skills Seminar, is made up of 12 organisations including the NFU which have pledged support to the development of a marketing strategy to promote the sector.

Research carried out by the GSCMI in schools showed that, while an internet site would be the best way to provide information to young people, the industry needed to change its image and raise awareness of the variety of work it covered to attract youngsters as a career choice.

Mr Morris said: "The group of 12 have shown real commitment in pledging financial support to provide the pump priming money necessary to get this work off the ground. We now have a clear understanding of what young people think of horticulture as a career and how we need to communicate with them if we are going to change some of the perceptions that they have and consider horticulture as a career.

"On Wednesday, I will show that with the right support this marketing strategy is possible of paying real dividends to the industry and I will be looking to the rest of the horticulture industry, with an interest in the future of horticulture as a career, to come on board and help us to ensure that our work comes to fruition."