Horticulture Apprentice Crop Technician
FLEURIE NURSERY LTD
BOGNOR REGIS (PO22 0AL)
Closes on Friday 19 June 2026
Posted on 11 May 2026
Contents
Summary
As an Apprentice Crop Technician at Fleurie, you will gain hands-on experience in every stage of the plant production lifecycle. This role involves rotating through core teams including potting, growing, and despatch to ensure you develop a complete understanding of how high-quality potted plants are produced.
- Wage
-
£25,857 a year
- Training course
- Crop technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
5 days in 7 with 4 days 0745-1615 and 1 day 0745-1515.
Overtime as needed during the week.
We work 7 days a week and overtime may be necessary in peak periods.
39 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 29 June 2026
- Duration
-
2 years
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Reporting to the Site Supervisors, you will rotate through key nursery departments to master the following:
- Potting: Sow seeds, and work on high-volume potting lines.
- Crop Care: Monitor plant health through irrigation, feeding, and weeding. You will learn to manage the growing environment and perform pest and disease checks.
- Despatch: Select and prepare plants to meet quality specifications, including labelling, trolley assembly, and loading.
- Nursery Operations: Maintain a clean, safe site by assisting with nursery hygiene, facility maintenance, and tractor driving.
- Professional Growth: Your first year focusses on core practical skills. In the second year, you will take on more responsibility and lead small team tasks.
Where you'll work
FLEURIE NURSERY LTD
LAKE LANE
BARNHAM
BOGNOR REGIS
PO22 0AL
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
Training course
Crop technician (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Identify and mitigate risks to promote and maintain health, safety and security. (Core)
- Manage accurate paper or digital records within the workplace. (Core)
- Maintain and operate machinery and equipment in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Maximise economic sustainability by optimising plant growth when carrying out operations. (Core)
- Establish crops to ensure efficient and sustainable growth. (Core)
- Operate vehicles in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Control pests, weeds and diseases using integrated pest management. (Core)
- Apply and store pest management treatments in accordance with standard operating procedures, legislation and regulations. (Core)
- Carry out plant nutrient application or irrigation tasks required by the crop. (Core)
- Carry out harvesting and dispatch operations. (Core)
- Assess and monitor crops for quality, performance and specification requirements. (Core)
- Select harvesting techniques taking account of crop condition and quality requirements. (Core)
- Maintain biosecurity and hygiene practices in line with legislation, regulations and organisational requirements. (Core)
- Keep harvested crops in suitable conditions to maintain quality. (Core)
- Maintain soils or substrates to ensure sustainable, efficient and healthy growth. (Core)
- Sample and evaluate soil or substrate health to determine nutrition requirements. (Core)
- Comply with health and safety legislation, regulations, guidelines and procedures relevant to own role. (Core)
- Participate in learning and CPD activities. (Core)
- Manage own time to achieve tasks to schedule. (Core)
- Consider different approaches to current working practices, identifying improvements, developments and innovative ideas. (Core)
- Set and monitor machinery performance to ensure good seed or plant establishment and crop growth. (Soil based)
- Set machinery and equipment taking into account the crop, environment, soil condition and specification requirements. (Soil based)
- Maintain non-productive areas. (Soil based)
- Assess the impact of machinery on soil structure and identify potential damage in accordance with legislation. (Soil based)
- Optimise growth conditions for crops, based on the specific needs of the plant relative to the environment. (Container based)
- Maintain productive and non-productive areas. (Container based)
- Plan for and carry out the removal of waste materials following harvest or dispatch. (Container based)
- Evaluate and select different growing mediums taking into account site conditions and production requirements. (Container based)
- Identify and mitigate risks to promote and maintain health, safety and security. (Core)
- Manage accurate paper or digital records within the workplace. (Core)
- Maintain and operate machinery and equipment in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Maximise economic sustainability by optimising plant growth when carrying out operations. (Core)
- Establish crops to ensure efficient and sustainable growth. (Core)
- Operate vehicles in accordance with manufacturer operating instructions. (Core)
- Control pests, weeds and diseases using integrated pest management. (Core)
- Apply and store pest management treatments in accordance with standard operating procedures, legislation and regulations. (Core)
- Carry out plant nutrient application or irrigation tasks required by the crop. (Core)
- Carry out harvesting and dispatch operations. (Core)
- Assess and monitor crops for quality, performance and specification requirements. (Core)
- Select harvesting techniques taking account of crop condition and quality requirements. (Core)
- Maintain biosecurity and hygiene practices in line with legislation, regulations and organisational requirements. (Core)
- Keep harvested crops in suitable conditions to maintain quality. (Core)
- Maintain soils or substrates to ensure sustainable, efficient and healthy growth. (Core)
- Sample and evaluate soil or substrate health to determine nutrition requirements. (Core)
- Comply with health and safety legislation, regulations, guidelines and procedures relevant to own role. (Core)
- Participate in learning and CPD activities. (Core)
- Manage own time to achieve tasks to schedule. (Core)
- Consider different approaches to current working practices, identifying improvements, developments and innovative ideas. (Core)
Training schedule
Level 2 Awards in:
Safe Use of Pesticides
On completion of the pesticides foundation unit above also choose one of the following units:
- Boom sprayer, mounted, trailed or self-propelled equipment.
- Granular applicator equipment.
- Handheld applicator equipment.
- Level 3 award in Emergency First Aid at Work.
- Candidates Aged 16-18 must have GCSE English and maths at Grade 4/C or above (if taking GCSEs this year, predicted grades must be at Pass level for maths and English).
- For candidates Aged 19+ (without GCSE English and maths), WCG will assess on an individual basis.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- English (grade 4)
- Maths (grade 4)
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Problem solving skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Initiative
- Patience
- Physical fitness
About this employer
Founded in 1986, Fleurie Nursery is a market-leading horticultural business and a proud member of the Farplants Group, a cooperative that produces over 10 million plants annually for the UK’s leading garden retailers. Operating across five production sites in the Barnham area of West Sussex, we specialise in high-quality ornamental plants, including summer patio plants, fuchsias, geraniums, and our own unique varieties of Nemesia.
At Fleurie, our core philosophy is that "people grow plants." We are committed to a "grow our own" culture, where we invest heavily in the training and development of our team. With over 27 acres of production space, ranging from modern glasshouses to outdoor growing areas, we provide a dynamic and healthy working environment
After this apprenticeship
Fleurie Nursery and the wider Tristram Plants group have a strong focus on internal growth. Based on their current structure and industry standards for Crop Technician apprentices, here is a breakdown of the expected career progression:
Internal Opportunities at Fleurie
Fleurie is known for its "people grow plants" ethos, meaning they prefer to promote from within. After completing your apprenticeship, your path could lead to:
- Permanent Nursery Operative: Moving into a full-time role within a specific department where you become a subject-matter expert.
- Specialist Roles: Developing technical expertise in areas like Crop Protection or Irrigation Management.
- Supervisory Positions: Progressing to a Team Leader or Site Supervisor role, where you manage day-to-day operations and lead staff.
- Technical Roles: With further experience, moving into Technical, overseeing crop quality and environmental controls across the nursery.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000030814.
Apply now
Closes on Friday 19 June 2026