The route, drawn out
DWG 26B9 · 5 stops · 2 years to qualify-
Day one Start as an apprentice from £15.6k
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Year 2 Training continues, pay rises min. £21.2k+
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2 years Fully qualified around £24k
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+3–5 years Experienced up to £36k
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Then Your own business you set the rate
The first figures are legal minimums: the apprentice rate (£8.00/hr) and the National Minimum Wage for 18–20s and 21+ from April 2026, on a 37.5-hour week. Qualified and experienced pay are indicative UK ranges — most employers pay apprentices above the minimum.
What the job is
Horticulture covers everything from municipal parks and sports grounds to private garden design and build. You learn plants, soils, propagation and maintenance, plus the hard landscaping skills — paving, walling, decking, drainage — that make up most commercial contracts.
It is outdoor, seasonal, physical work that suits people who want to see what they did at the end of the day. Landscaping is one of the easier trades to go self-employed in, with modest start-up costs.
A typical day
- Prepare ground, soils and planting beds
- Plant, prune and maintain trees, shrubs and borders
- Lay paving, edging, turf and drainage
- Operate and maintain mowers, machinery and hand tools
- Identify plants, pests and diseases and treat appropriately
How you get in
- No formal qualifications required for most level 2 apprenticeships
- Driving licence is very useful, often essential
- Comfortable working outdoors in all weather
- Pesticide (PA) certificates are added during training
Where it leads
- Level 3 horticulture or landscape supervisor
- Specialise in arboriculture, sports turf or garden design
- Parks or grounds maintenance supervisor
- Self-employed landscaping and maintenance business
Where to train for this
82 colleges and training providers on our list cover Landscaper / Horticulture Operative training. Open your region to see them, then check current intakes with the provider directly.