Alan Titchmarsh has spoken
out, warning that gardening is undervalued, adding that young people
must be taught that gardening jobs are not for the “thick dull and
unadventurous”.
Alan stated that gardeners work is “undervalued by
Government, by the population and by young people in particular - in every
instance, because they just do not understand the breadth of what we do and its
importance in terms of the well-being of the planet and its population”.
A study conducted by some of Britain’s leading horticultural
organisations has shown that more than 70% of companies are struggling to find
skilled workers and more than 80% of those businesses surveyed believed it is
the poor reputation of horticultural jobs. Due to the perception of
horticultural jobs, 19% of companies have been forced to recruit from abroad
and 10% of vacancies took over a year to fill.
The Horticultural Trade Association director Carol Paris
said “With such a serious skills shortage in the sector we need to change
perceptions to show the diversity of exciting opportunities that exist within
horticulture and how this can offer a serious and rewarding career for talented
people.”
