Horticulture Supervisor Apprentice
Teignbridge District Council
Newton Abbot (TQ12 4AD)
Closes on Wednesday 7 January 2026
Posted on 14 November 2025
Contents
Summary
To undertake horticulture supervisor apprenticeship and assist the green spaces team to manage and maintain district green spaces.
- Wage
-
£24,413 a year
- Training course
- Horticulture or landscaping supervisor (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
37 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 16 March 2026
- Duration
-
2 years 11 months
- 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
- Attend required college and training activities, complete required assignments and assessments to achieve apprenticeship qualification
- Assist in monitoring grounds maintenance delivery
- Assist in design of existing and new planting schemes
- Assist in seasonal bedding designs
- Undertake/assist with open space inspections
- Compile risk assessment for various Ad- hoc/winter projects.
- Work with GS projects officer to deliver added value element of grounds maintenance contract
- Work with friends/community groups
- Works with nature recovery and biodiversity groups to expand areas for the benefit of wildlife and habitat
- Work in conjunction with our countryside rangers on various countryside and SANGS sites to gain experience and knowledge in the diverse methods of the overall management of sites
- Assist in updating applications/management plans for Green Flag submissions for existing and possibly new sites
- Work with TDC Cemetery Officer to gain a brief understanding of cemetery procedures and associated work
Where you'll work
Forde Road
Newton Abbot
TQ12 4AD
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
UNIVERSITY CENTRE SOMERSET COLLEGE GROUP
Training course
Horticulture or landscaping supervisor (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Plan and implement horticultural activities using techniques to protect and enhance the environment, biodiversity or heritage.
- Plan and implement environmental mitigation measures for horticultural tasks, including protecting sites (for example aquatic environments, soils, plants, structures) from horticultural works, waste management planning, hazardous waste and pollution controls.
- Plan the care of plants in different environments, including suitability for the site and providing irrigation and nutrition.
- Identify biosecurity threats for a horticultural site (including main pests or diseases and their identification features) and implement and communicate phytosanitary and biosecurity procedures for the site in line with legal requirements.
- Apply scientific plant naming conventions (including genus and species) to identify plants via physical inspection and without assistive resources.
- Plan and implement planting activities in context of the stock type/ species and planting environment.
- Assess hard structure or surface, evaluate hazards, damage and faults and rectify, report or maintain as required.
- Assess soil type and quality (imported or natural), identify soil condition and recommend management regimes as required and appropriate to the site, including the prevention of damage from traffic and works.
- Identify basic health threats and hazards for established trees.
- Plan, quantify materials and implement turf or species-rich meadow surface installation.
- Plan and supervise vegetation control (including formative, regenerative and maintenance pruning), selecting methods and equipment.
- Implement project management skills, including project processes, planning and specifications.
- Use digital tools to solve problems, plan, collaborate, communicate and keep records.
- Develop a work plan to a specification.
- Communicate using verbal and written communication skills.
- Establish safe systems of work and comply with health, safety and welfare legislation, including basic risk assessment.
- Supervise others (staff or volunteers ), including motivation, work prioritisation, quality, problem-solving, capability for task, establishing a safety culture and resource deployment.
- Manage use of tools and machinery on site (including safety and record keeping) and carry out selection appraisals.
- Use and maintain irrigation system (hose and lance, drip, sprinkler or rotary system) to ensure accurate and timely water application.
- Plan a programme of plant pest and disease controls in line with Integrated Pest Management principles. Spraying of pesticides and or fertilisers or non-chemical alternatives.
- Select propagation methods and plan and implement propagating plants by seed and vegetative methods in an indoor or outdoor context.
- Assess a horticultural area, develop an annual maintenance programme and undertake maintenance activities.
- Assess turf or species-rich meadow quality and plan and implement the maintenance, repair and renovation of ornamental turf areas.
- Prune or train a climber, shrub and tree using specialist pruning and or training techniques to maintain plant health and achieve design or functional objectives.
- Select work method and plan and undertake the application of a range of landscape construction materials to a specification, including brick laying, paving, timber features; construct horizontal and vertical features.
- Install a service into a landscape, for example lighting conduits, irrigation or draining.
- Measure and set out a site with several features and levels from a construction drawing.
- Plan and implement landscaping activities for a non-complex landscape construction project, including interpreting job specification and construction drawings, estimating materials required, planning resource allocation (human and physical), work quality and health and safety considerations.
- Survey site for landscape construction, including presence of services, drainage, plantings, features, protected areas and hazards.
- Plan and implement horticultural activities using techniques to protect and enhance the environment, biodiversity or heritage.
- Plan and implement environmental mitigation measures for horticultural tasks, including protecting sites (for example aquatic environments, soils, plants, structures) from horticultural works, waste management planning, hazardous waste and pollution controls.
- Plan the care of plants in different environments, including suitability for the site and providing irrigation and nutrition.
- Identify biosecurity threats for a horticultural site (including main pests or diseases and their identification features) and implement and communicate phytosanitary and biosecurity procedures for the site in line with legal requirements.
- Apply scientific plant naming conventions (including genus and species) to identify plants via physical inspection and without assistive resources.
- Plan and implement planting activities in context of the stock type/ species and planting environment.
- Assess hard structure or surface, evaluate hazards, damage and faults and rectify, report or maintain as required.
- Assess soil type and quality (imported or natural), identify soil condition and recommend management regimes as required and appropriate to the site, including the prevention of damage from traffic and works.
- Identify basic health threats and hazards for established trees.
- Plan, quantify materials and implement turf or species-rich meadow surface installation.
- Plan and supervise vegetation control (including formative, regenerative and maintenance pruning), selecting methods and equipment.
- Implement project management skills, including project processes, planning and specifications.
- Use digital tools to solve problems, plan, collaborate, communicate and keep records.
- Develop a work plan to a specification.
- Communicate using verbal and written communication skills.
- Establish safe systems of work and comply with health, safety and welfare legislation, including basic risk assessment.
- Supervise others (staff or volunteers ), including motivation, work prioritisation, quality, problem-solving, capability for task, establishing a safety culture and resource deployment.
- Manage use of tools and machinery on site (including safety and record keeping) and carry out selection appraisals.
Training schedule
- Horticulture or Landscaping Supervisor Level 3
- 100% delivery in the workplace, with workshops at our Cannington College as required
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE in:
- GCSE's inc English & maths (grade 4 to 9 (A* to C))
- GCSE's inc Science (grade 4 to 9 (A* to C))
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
- Organisation skills
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Physical fitness
Other requirements
Able to work outdoors in all weather.
About this employer
You will enjoy working together as part of a team to deliver on our vision of making Teignbridge a healthy and desirable place where people want to live, work and visit. We are an equal opportunities employer committed to a diverse and inclusive organisation. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We can offer: • Generous Local Government Pension Scheme • Free car parking (we also have close access to a mainline train station). • Generous annual leave and wellbeing package. • Heavily discounted membership at Teignbridge District Council Leisure Centres. • Cycle to Work Scheme. • Opportunities for career and self-development. • 24/7 employee discount access and employee assistance support.
After this apprenticeship
This apprenticeship forms the foundation of a career within the profession, giving the base for further development through a career path within an organisation and/or through the Horticultural Supervisor apprenticeship.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
UNIVERSITY CENTRE SOMERSET COLLEGE GROUP
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000000541.
Apply now
Closes on Wednesday 7 January 2026
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