The top ten most popular career choices in the UK include data scientists, software engineers, graphic designers and accountants. No one ever mentions horticulture. Candidates might protest that it is dirty and difficult work, out in all weathers, poorly paid and with no well-established and recognised career pathway. We all know they’d be wrong, but perception is so much stronger than truth in the digital age.
Many horticulture sector businesses, and the trade associations that support them, are run predominantly by experienced, knowledgeable and well-respected experts. It’s not for their lack of good intentions and hard work that the reputation of horticulture among many young people seems to remain pretty elusive. It’s rather more the case that those in the driving seats don’t always speak the same language as the young people they seek to engage.
However, our industry recently took three small but highly significant steps forward. Firstly, after much lobbying by Ian Stephens of Lawn Master, LinkedIn has finally recognised horticulture as a fully-fledged industry category.
According to Oxford Economics, there are 568,000 people employed in our sector. That is significantly more than the film industry (66,000), libraries (30,000) or even the tobacco industry (5,000), all of which have long been included on the platform. A long time coming and not a moment too soon.
The second significant happening was the first ever in-person meeting of the Young People in Horticulture Association that took place at RHS Garden Wisley. This (so far) small band of enthusiastic and ambitious people have taken it on themselves to set up a completely new organisation with a focus on raising the profile of horticulture among a younger demographic. Maybe those of us who are somewhat longer in the tooth, with our experience and responsibility for the future of our industry, should feel slightly ashamed that we did not think of that first.
These youngsters are already enjoying the hugely supportive network they have created and are now embarking on the next phase of their development. They are on a mission to make horticulture cool.
Thirdly, it seems we may finally be due a rebrand for the industry, something that Sue Biggs (RHS) and James Barnes (HTA) have tabled with the suggestion of adding the word “environmental” to “horticulture” in place of “ornamental”. This seems like a great opportunity to dump the “Victorian, fussy and unfashionable” and embrace the “topical, relevant and important”. A small but significant tweak to brand horticulture that might just get us noticed. What are we waiting for?
Horticulture is such an underrated field, and it’s refreshing to see it finally getting the recognition it deserves. It’s surprising how many people overlook the importance of this industry, especially when it employs so many more people than sectors like film or tobacco. The fact that LinkedIn has now recognized horticulture as a proper industry category is a huge step forward, and it’s about time. The Young People in Horticulture Association also seems like a fantastic initiative—it’s inspiring to see younger generations taking the lead in promoting this field. However, I wonder if the industry’s older professionals could do more to bridge the gap and communicate better with younger audiences. Do you think the perception of horticulture will change significantly in the next decade, or will it still struggle to attract young talent? It’s a fascinating topic, and I’d love to hear more about how the industry plans to evolve.
It’s refreshing to see horticulture finally getting the recognition it deserves, especially in a world dominated by tech-focused careers. However, it’s disappointing how long it took for platforms like LinkedIn to acknowledge it as a legitimate industry. The efforts of the Young People in Horticulture Association are inspiring, but it makes me wonder why it took so long for such initiatives to emerge. Are older generations in the industry too disconnected from younger perspectives, or is it simply a lack of urgency? Also, while the statistics about employment in horticulture are impressive, why isn’t this communicated more effectively to the public? It feels like there’s still a lot of work to do in changing perceptions. What do you think the next big step should be to make horticulture more appealing to young people?