Bianca is one of our new Horticultural Apprentices.
She lives in the city centre and went to Whitehill Secondary School in Dennistoun. She has been pursuing a career in horticulture with Glasgow City Council for two years.
Bianca started with Glasgow City Council’s Get Ready for Work Tigers programme in September 2006.
She worked with the Glasgow’s Vocational Programme training staff in Elmbank Street, and she got involved in horticulture training, which led to her deciding to pursue general horticulture.
The Tigers Team gave Bianca support in numeracy/literacy, interview skills, etc which helped build her confidence and enabled her to successfully win a place on the Council’s Grow For It training programme in 2007.
The programme is designed for people who require support in the workplace. We give them a one-year contract, where they work in the parks and receive a wage, while receiving training from us on basic work skills, teambuilding, and numeracy & literacy.
Bianca impressed her placement managers through her good attitude and has gained more confidence, skills and practical ability.
This meant Bianca was in a stronger position this year, and was successful in gaining a place on the apprenticeship.
Bianca is now embarking on a three-year horticultural apprenticeship, which will see her work in different areas of horticulture. Her training will also include achieving an SVQ in Amenity Horticulture.
Bianca said: “I love working in horticulture and have always wanted to get involved in this field.
“The apprenticeship has given me the chance to learn skills in a whole range of different specialisms, like nursery work, aquatic features, or arboriculture, which is working with trees.
“There’s a lot more to this than people probably realise, and it really gives you the chance to express yourself through design, for example.”