By Terry Murphy, manager, Education, Training and Human Resources,
Landscape Ontario
“Horticultural Technician” is a name batted about by everyone in our industry without much thought. Everybody uses it. The problem is that everybody in the landscape industry calls himself or herself a horticultural technician. Better still, and I like this one, is the word “Certified “ Landscape Technician. Most people like the word certified because we live in a world that now places an emphasis on licences and certifications. Nobody seems to know what to call who. It’s like the Abbott and Costello skit, “Who’s on first.”
Colleges Perception
Some college people are a little upset because they feel they have a patent or ownership on the title “horticulture technician” as a graduate from their diploma program. Many colleges have used this designation for years. Humber College, in Toronto, for example, calls their graduates “landscape technicians.” Two years ago after much debate, the Industry Committee (employers and employees appointed by the Minister) for Apprenticeships recommended and had approved by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities the name “Horticultural Technician” for graduates of the Provincial Government landscape Apprenticeship Program. Why? Simply put, it very accurately describes what workers do. What does this tell us? It basically says that people who work with their hands are called technicians. Such is the case of automobile technicians, tool and die workers and electricians, etc. People who work in horticulture are therefore called “horticulture technicians.” Nobody should have a claim on this label, and it is a good way to describe a landscape nursery worker.
Canadian Certified Horticultural Technician Program
Landscape Ontario and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) embarked five years ago on the Canadian Certified Horticultural Technician (CCHT) Program. It was created as a response to industry employers who wanted to establish an industry minimum standard so they could further educate and qualify their workers. Employers were surveyed to determine some of the important skills they required in the various jobs within their company. The program merely endorses that the worker has achieved those minimum standards. This is a North American industry certification program, recognized throughout Canada and the United States. Graduates are called “CCHT certified” or Canadian Certified Horticultural Technicians
Society’s position on education
Society and industry created levels of education as a recognized system for positioning people for jobs and employment advancement. The general accepted levels are high school, high school OSSD completion, Apprenticeship, College Certificate and Diploma, University Degree and Post Graduate, Masters and PhD. In North America, society considers education levels for employment hiring criteria, employment advancement and pay scales based on this so-called educational positioning. Oddly enough, we are learning in society that job stability and employment longevity does not necessarily go hand in hand with this educational positioning. In the last 10 years for a variety of reasons, people in most trades are not only well paid but often have more job stability and have escaped the right sizing of North American firms. People in the trades, especially apprenticeship graduates now increase their stature and value in the market place. Most of these trades are called “technicians.”
Some schools produce a better product than other schools. In many cases, society perceives the value of an individual and their worth by the school from which they graduated, rather than their actual skill level and designated label. Simply look at the perceived value of an MBA from Harvard or Western University in Canada. Each graduate may be qualified, but the reputation of the school creates added value. The graduating label, horticultural technician, may not imply added value. For this reason, horticultural schools should focus more on the quality of the training and the practical skill level as opposed to what their graduates are called.
So what’s in a name? Does the word “horticultural technician“ imply or designate a special status or give credibility? Yes and no. As far as employers are concerned, they are interested in their knowledge and skill level. Some colleges feel the word “horticultural technician” should be reserved for a graduate of the community college system. As far as the apprenticeship program is concerned, the individual is learning on the job. One is learning the trade by way of mentoring by the employer, which is what gives value to the apprentice. The industry employer is interested in what the individual can produce for their firm as opposed to their formal training and what is described on their sheepskin. The designation of “horticultural technician” has to be taken in context with the level of training because everybody calls himself or herself by this name. The important point is the standard to which they are trained. Their level of knowledge, skill, in school training and experience determines the level of and the value of the individual “horticultural technician.” The value of the employee and what they can do dictates what they are paid and not the name of their program. Again, society and the public may put a different slant on it and each school will value their program as number one. It is the industry employer who assesses the real value of the “horticultural technician” by evaluating what the individual can do to help that employer generate a profit. In the end, it’s the results one produces and not the particular “title” that creates value.
