Cultivating the Next Gen

By Belinda Tardini and David Robin Boughen

DNA Training are leading the charge to promote our industry to the next generation of recruits.

Australians are a resilient bunch, in 2019-20, we endured devastating droughts, ravaging bushfires, severe flooding and storms.

And of course, it wasn’t just the environmental events that shook the nation, the COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of challenge and uncertainty.

During this time, educating the next generation of green space workers ground to a halt due to restrictions imposed on the education sector, leaving a large deficit in an industry already experiencing a skills shortage.

The extremes in climatic events have highlighted a need for the next generation of trained green space professionals to help, not only recover from these devastations, but to innovate and collaborate new ideas to manage future events.

Action needs to be taken to stabalise the damage caused by recent environmental and health disasters and boost the already significant staff shortage to assist in the recovery.

Joshua Gregory, the Senior Supervisor at Summit Open Space Services, was tasked with making King Like National Park safe again following the ‘Black Saturday’ fires that caused devastation to the park and the community.

Joshua said, “it was strange working at King Lake seeing the damage and how the locals responded to the removal of the damaged trees that had become a hazard. They now support arborists to visit regularly, maintaining the National Park and surrounding areas, removing potential fire hazards or vegetation that could fuel possible threats in the future, and helping to re-establish the natural habitats for our wildlife.”

Adelina Carnevale, owner of DNA Recruitment, agrees that there is a high need for new entrants in the industry, “there is a huge need for arborists in Victoria and for more women in the industry. We are inundated with employers chasing us for qualified people in arboriculture and horticulture to fill the skills shortage” .

The Australian Government has also recognised that there is a significant skills shortage in arboriculture, horticulture, agriculture, retail nursery and landscaping.

The question I dare to ask is if we struggle to attract new entrants into the industry what will happen to our beautiful land. How can we encourage the next generation of green space workers?

The DNA Training Solutions team have been working closely with Lynda Green, Training Package Content Officer for the Australian Apprenticeship and Traineeship Pathways (AATP), to uncover why the next generation are often overlooking the rewarding work on offer in the green space industry. The new government School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship initiative has been focused on guiding the next generation in choosing their career pathways. Industry Coordinators for the Victorian South Eastern District at HEADSTART, Kellie-Ann Darlington and Haritini Nikolaou, support the action of filling the gap in our Green Space Industry, by working closely with DNA Training Solutions to build the awareness of the opportunity to undertake a Traineeship in Conservation and Land Management, Arboriculture and Horticulture.

“We understand the need for building the workforce in Horticulture and Arboriculture, however the students do not know that this career pathway is an option or what they do,” said Haritini.

We caught up with Kellie-Ann Darlington and Haritini to understand how we can cultivate the next generation of greenspace employees.

How can you help us to attract the next generation of green space workers and show the benifits of this wonderful industry? We encourage green space workers to share photos and/or videos of themselves in the field, performing tasks they love, on their social media pages with #DNAGreenSpace

Searching #DNAGreenSpace gives young people a glimpse into the working life of a multitude of green space career opportunities. It’s a way of communicated the varied and dynamic nature of the work.

Lynda Green has agreed to help boost awareness of careers within the industry by launching a “Job of the Month” on the Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information Service website. The ‘Job of the Month’ campaign, which will run from December 2020 to January 2021, will feature podcasts, videos, blog posts and social media content, featuring industry experts who are working in a mixture of roles, communicating to the next generation of entrants their passion for the industry.

David Reid, NGIV’s Policy & Technical Manager is keen to support industry growth and would like to see more young people enter this rewarding career, “I have organised passes for students to trade shows and took them to meet industry experts in Victoria to give them a true insight of the nature of the work. NGIV will continue to promote the industry as an attractive career choice to the next generation.”

Thoughtplanters, who provide theory and practical training in all aspects of horticulture, arboriculture and utility line-clearance industries, have come to the table by backing a program to provide further options for VET in VCAL, with new entrant courses in Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management, to be released in Victoria. Perhaps the best advocates for the industry are students and young people who are having their first taste of the industry. We caught up with Bailey McIntosh (aged 20), Kyle Selby (aged 27), and Indie De Silva (aged 39), who are currently completing the specialised vegetation management course in UET20319 Certificate II in ESI – Powerline Vegetation Control and asked them what they would say to people who were on the fence regarding a career in the Green Space industry.

What attracted you to work in this industry?

Kyle – “I wanted to work outdoors, in different locations and experience different challenges everyday - it's really exciting.”

Bailey – “If you want to use cool equipment day in day out, this is the perfect job. You get trusted to use chainsaws all day and it’s the most fun you'll ever have.”

What are some of your daily tasks?

Bailey – “Everything from plant maintenance, checking over work, pruning trees or removing trees for resident safety. We work closely with the greenscaping team to prune the trees to the right specification depending on the area. We also do site clearing, mostly for Government properties.”

Indie – “Working in coordinated teams, building a great work environment and supervising the work off site.”

Why should people enter the arboriculture industry?

Kyle –- “If you loved climbing trees as a kid, like I did, then it’s perfect. I get to do it as an adult and make a good living.”

Indie – “It is important to highlight that there are many career pathways available within the Green Space that can lead to management roles. You don’t have to stay on the tools.”

We need your help to promote the industry to the next generation by sharing a valuable insight into the Green Space industry by sharing your photos and videos of your daily tasks and projects to #DNAGreenSpace