Viticulture Apprentice
COBHAM HOUSE VINEYARD LTD
KENT (DA12 3AA)
Closes in 16 days (Friday 29 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 12 August 2025
Contents
Summary
We are a family owned vineyard in a beautiful AONB area of Kent. The apprentice will get experience of everything from pruning, spraying to harvesting. They will be involved in taking soil and leaf samples. As a new vineyard we provide a safe, educational and fun workplace. We have an inclusive working environment and champion different cultures.
- Wage
-
£13,741 to £22,222.20, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Training course
- Crop technician (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday, 9.00am - 4.00pm. There will be some weekend work.
35 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 1 September 2025
- 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
The apprentice will be reporting to the vineyard manager and helping with tasks including, but not limitted to the following:
- Pruning
- Tying down
- Crown clearing
- Canopy tucking in
- Spraying
- Checking vine health
- Fixing and adapting trellis
- Fencing
- Helping with new winery building
Where you'll work
GOLD STREET
COBHAM
GRAVESEND
KENT
DA12 3AA
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
PLUMPTON 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
- Training will occur in 10 weekly blocks of teaching split between the Plumpton College main campus and the College’s Rock Lodge Vineyard
- The block attended shall be for a full 5 day a week, with class sessions over 5 separate weeks
- The course with be conducted at Plumpton College
Requirements
Desirable 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
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Number skills
- Logical
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Physical fitness
- Positive attitude
Other requirements
We are 10 minutes walk from the nearest station (Sole Street on the Chatham main line). We also have parking on site. We don’t have a winery building (expected in the next 2/3 months) yet but do have a welfare unit on the vineyard.
About this employer
We are a new vineyard (and company). The owners are a husband and wife team. Our son who looks after marketing and daughter who looks after the social media). We have 25 acres of newly planted vines. We aim to produce luxury English sparkling wines from grapes grown on the perfect terroir.
After this apprenticeship
The next step would be a vineyard assistant where you would take on more responsibillity in relation to all vineyard activities. Also helping train any new employees.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
PLUMPTON COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000336670.
Apply now
Closes in 16 days (Friday 29 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
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