The lay of the land
The landscape industries cover:
Hard, soft and interior landscaping
Sports turf maintenance
Private, heritage and botanic gardens
Commercial grounds, public parks and green spaces.
The landscape industries comprise many different types of business, including public and private sector workers involved in:
Local authority green space management
All forms of sports turf management and maintenance
State owned and private historic and heritage gardens.
They range from small contracting firms to large integrated and multi-national companies like Sodexho and Cleanaway.
On the horizon
Current and future skills needs in the landscape industries include the following:
Practical horticultural skills, plant knowledge and pest and disease recognition
Practical job related skills – hard landscaping, groundwork
Garden design
Plant and equipment operation skills, particularly those required by legislation
Supervising and managing staff and volunteers
Risk assessment
Health and safety – safety on construction sites, use of chemicals etc
Business management and IT skills
Contract negotiation
Project management
Security
Wildlife conservation management
Events management
Contract negotiation
Customer service/education
Customer service/communication skills
Marketing
Technology transfer of scientific knowledge in relation to sports turf management and maintenance
Technical and practical skills eg setting a mower, rolling pitches, photosynthetic cycle application to turf.
Digging deeper
Our research helps us to keep education and training relevant to your industry. We study the skills and labour requirements of the landscape industry, and ensure these needs are met through your training.
For more detailed information, read the Landscape Sector Skills Agreement Stage 5 Report.
