1. Employability Skills in Horticulture
Objective: Describe skills needed for employment and careers in the horticulture industry.

2. What is Horticulture?
Horticulture comes from the Latin words hortus which means “garden” and cultorum which means “cultivation”.
Horticulture is the cultivation, processing and marketing of flowers, ornamental plants, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

3. Divisions of Horticulture
Fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants
Floriculture
Landscape and nursery industry
Olericulture
Pomology

4. Floriculture
Floriculture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, designing, and marketing flowering plants.

5. Landscape and Nursery
Landscape and nursery industry is the science and practice of propagation, growing, planting, maintaining and using grasses, annuals, shrubs and trees.

6. Olericulture
Olericulture is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing vegetables.

7. Pomology
Pomology is the science and practice of growing, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing tree grown fruits.

8. Importance of Horticulture
Horticulture has three main areas of importance.
Economic
Aesthetic
Environmental

9. Economic Importance
The horticulture industry puts over $25 billion dollars into the U.S. economy annually.
Provides jobs
Produces food (fruits, vegetables, nuts)
Increases value of homes through landscaping

10. Aesthetic value (appearance)
Improves the appearance of homes and buildings through landscaping
Improves the appearance of land from fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops grown.

11. Includes health and comfort
Environmental
Includes health and comfort
cleans air
prevents erosion
provides shade
nutrition

12. What are some jobs in horticulture?

13. Grows vegetables and flowers including
Greenhouse Employee
Grows vegetables and flowers including
cut flowers
bedding plants
potted plants
hanging baskets
Performs both sexual and asexual propagation of plants

14. Nursery Employee
Grows seedlings and plants for landscaping, replanting in forests, or producing fruit

15. Garden Center Employee
Cares for plants
moves plants and supplies
arranges and displays plants and supplies
sells plants and supplies

16. Grounds Maintenance Employee
Cares for the land area and plants that surround a business, school, church, industry or other public or private places that have lawns and plants that have to be maintained

17. Responsible for maintenance of:
Golf Course Employee
Responsible for maintenance of:
golf course including turfgrass
irrigation and drainage
sand trap
trees and shrubs
buildings and equipment

18. Park Employee
Maintains plants, grounds, buildings, facilities, equipment and driveways in national, state, city or privately owned parks

19. What qualifications do I need to work in the horticulture industry?

20. Skills
Skills vary from unskilled to highly skilled depending on the career in horticulture. A materials handler needs few skills, but an inspector needs many skills to check for quality, for insects or diseases or for following governmental rules.

21. Personal Interests and Qualifications
Before seeking a job one must consider:
Work inside or outside or a combination
Work in a group or alone
Work with people or plants
Work at routine tasks or varying jobs
Physical strength to do the job

22. Educational Qualifications
Educational qualifications vary depending on the careers
High school graduate or less for unskilled entry-level jobs
Technical degree for skilled jobs
Bachelors, masters or doctorate degree for most professional areas because of required licenses, paperwork, research and/or teaching

23. I see plants in your future!
Career Outlook
Outlook for the horticulture industry is expected to grow because of the increase in population and new home construction.
I see plants in your future!