Growing into the job

A new scheme should help disabled people compete for horticulture jobs, says Sunil Peck.

Gardening is often thought of as a leisure or even therapeutic thing for disabled people to do. But people in six London boroughs are being given the chance to join a training scheme that will develop the skills required to compete for jobs in the city's parks and open spaces.

The first phase, Working it Out, will be in Battersea Park, where participants will restore the park's Old English Garden.

The programme will be run by Thrive, the national gardening charity for disabled people.

Susan Stuart, garden manager at the Thrive Battersea garden project, came up with the idea. She says there is a growing number of job vacancies in horticulture.

The scheme aims to open those opportunities up to disabled people, who have been denied access to them so far.

“People will learn about plant and weed recognition, soil improvement, how to use equipment, and maintaining lawns,” says Stuart.

The scheme will combine work-shadowing with personal development programmes and work experience placements. So as well as picking up horticulture skills, participants will develop work skills like punctuality, the ability to work independently, teamworking and health and safety.

The training will last between one and two years, depending on a person's support needs, but people will be expected to be able to handle a full working day.

The scheme is designed for people with lower support needs who do not have access to social care plans, such as people with mild mental health issues.

The scheme would also suit someone recovering from an illness or someone with mild to moderate learning difficulties.

These are the people who Stuart says find it hard to access formal training courses run by horticultural colleges or whose work skills need developing.

She thinks candidates will be referred by GPs, community mental health teams, hospital-based rehabilitation teams, local authority learning disability teams and statutory and voluntary sector organisations.

The intention is to roll the scheme out across London. If successful, it could be expanded to cover the rest of the country, says Stuart.

She adds: “What we can do is achieve employability for the individuals who participate in this, but also find a way of helping London’s parks contractors to create a more inclusive workplace.”

Working it Out is scheduled to begin in Spring 2008.

• Thrive, tel: 0118 988 5688, www.thrive.org.uk