Creina Lilburne looks at how companies can cultivate their own staff in the face of a difficult labour market. The skills shortage within horticulture is widely felt. Hardly a week goes by without the issue being raised within the pages of this magazine. To fill the gap, employers are increasingly taking on recruits who have only an aptitude for the trade, then train them to suit their specific needs. The Notcutts group - which includes five nurseries, 13 garden centres and a landscaping division -is one employer that has taken this approach. Group managing director William Notcutt notes that over the past 10 years the number of recruits coming into the company with a Higher National Diploma or degree has dropped. "We've widened the net - expanded the number of sources from which we will take recruits," he says. "We are no longer necessarily looking for people with a horticultural background - though, of course, that helps - but we are looking for people who have the personal attributes to learnthe skills and get on in the business."
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