Landscape and Horticultural Technicians and Specialists

Nature of work

This group includes those design, develop, and maintain landscaped spaces and who advise clients on issues related to horticulture. They work for landscape designers and contractors, lawn service and tree care businesses, golf courses, nurseries and greenhouses, and municipal, provincial, and national parks, or they may be self-employed.

Job duties

Arborists and tree service technicians:

• Examine trees and shrubs to diagnose problems and disease, and apply various treatments like pruning, spraying, repairing damaged areas and injecting with treatment solutions.

Golf course superintendents:

• Direct crews who maintain the health and appearance of golf courses and their surrounding landscapes, plant and move trees, and apply fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides.

Horticulturists:

• Plan and coordinate the growth and use of plants for landscaping, ornamental uses, and other purposes.

Landscape designers and landscape architectural technicians and technologists:

• Survey and assess sites, prepare drawings, sketches, and reports, and perform other duties to help landscape architects design landscaped environments.

Landscape gardeners:

• Plant and maintain private and public lawns and gardens.

Landscapers:

• Plan and construct landscaped environments that may include trees, shrubberies, lawns, fences, decks, patios, and other landscape structures.

Lawn care specialists:

• Visit clients, assess the health of lawns, and apply fertilizer, pesticides, and other lawn care products.

Sample job titles

• arborist
• cultivation technician
• greenskeeper
• horticulture technician
• horticulture technologist
• hydroponics technician
• irrigation technician (except agriculture)
• landscape architectural technologist
• landscape horticulturalist
• lawn care specialist

Skills

• An interest in developing natural and created environments
• An interest in computers and design-related applications
• Spatial awareness
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Creativity
• Analytical abilities
• Decision-making skills
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving and critical thinking
• Time-management
• Ability to work alone and as part of a team
• Physical stamina

Job requirements

• A university or college program in agronomy, arboriculture, horticulture, landscaping, landscape design, or landscape technology is usually required.
• Experience as a landscape and grounds maintenance labourer may be required for golf course superintendents, landscape gardeners, and landscapers.
• An apprenticeship program is available for horticulturists, arboriculturists, and landscape gardeners.
• Landscape horticulturalists require training through a 6,000-hour apprenticeship program: to become an apprentice you first need to have a job - enter an apprenticeship agreement either directly through an employer or after graduating from a college-level pre-apprenticeship program; learn on the job, mentored by a certified journeyperson who signs off on skills in a logbook.
• Trade Qualifier option, 9,000 hours, four practical industry certifications from the Landscape Horticulture Certification Program, and other criteria.
• Certification for landscape horticulturists is voluntary in Nova Scotia.
• Write and score a minimum of 70% on the Red Seal exam for landscape horticulturalists; or obtain a provincial certificate without writing an exam.
• Red Seal Endorsement (RSE) allows for interprovincial mobility.
• A provincial license to apply chemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides may be required.

Other considerations

• Setting: landscape agricultural technologists most often work in an office and on construction sites. They usually work standard office hours with some overtime to meet project deadlines.
• Setting: landscape horticulturalists work outdoors in all types of weather. Indoor work may involve greenhouse production, interior landscaping, and the sale of plants, materials, and supplies. Employment may be seasonal with long hours.
• The work may involve lifting, climbing, carrying, and bending.
• Experienced landscape architectural technologists may become certified in specific areas like irrigation design or contract administration. Some start their own business.
• Beginning landscape horticulturalists often enter the trade during the busy summer months as labourers or apprentices.
• Experienced landscape horticulturalists may advance to supervisor, manager, or head landscape horticulturalist positions, or start their own business.
• Some landscape horticulturists specialize in landscape design, construction and maintenance, and greenhouse, sod, and nursery production. They may work independently or with other professionals such as landscape architects, architects, engineers, and municipal planners.
• Some jobs may require working with dangerous chemical substances or exposure to unpleasant odours.
• Apprentices usually earn a percentage of the journeyperson (fully qualified) rate. This percentage increases as each level of the apprenticeship program is completed.
• Everyone has fair access to participate and succeed in the apprenticeship system. Everyone who develops the necessary skills and abilities should be able to succeed in the trades and trade qualification system. Work environments in the province support women and equity-seeking communities.

Regulations

Contacts

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