Budding horticulturists begin traineeships

Leaving old jobs for a new opportunity working outdoors links our four new horticultural trainees at the City of Fremantle.

The horticultural traineeships launched in late March are another way the City is providing new employment and training opportunities. 

Each trainee will spend three months in the eight sections of the City’s Parks and Landscapes department and attend a weekly day of classes at South Metro TAFE to complete a two-year Certificate 3 in Horticulture. 

“I was working on farms for 10 years, had no formal qualifications and saw what Fremantle was offering as an awesome opportunity,” Michael Rice, 27, said.

He currently works in the reserve maintenance section of the department, trimming plants and mowing, while former graphic designer Alistair Bell, 30 is spending his first three months learning about irrigation.

The trainees have their work cut out for them because Parks and Landscapes’ 40-strong team looks after more than 70 parks and reserves in the City, 10 sports fields, about 15,000 street trees, 3.5km of coast and 2.5km of the Swan River’s bank. 

“My passion has always been outdoor cultivation, working with plants, and I had been in a grocery store, so it’s great to get outdoors and do more challenging stuff,” Brianna Loveland, 23, said.

Former warehouse worker Hari Venkatesan, 19, has been providing the essential service of refilling dog poo bag dispensers with the City’s rapid response section that looks after the infrastructure at your parks.

“It’s the first time for a long time we’ve had this number of trainees aboard,” City Parks Co-ordinator Tim Marks said.   

Their diverse backgrounds and ages did not fill the traditional view of TAFE students.

“We were very surprised when they applied, as we were expecting those straight out of school,” Tim said.

“But they are also contributing to the careers of our other staff, who are their mentors, by bringing their own transferable skills and what they share with each other as buddies paired in the group of four.”

All the trainees will rotate through the other sections of Parks and Landscapes dealing with turf maintenance, reserve infrastructure, plant care, streetscapes, the urban forest and natural areas.

The trainees will be able to apply for any available position at the City at the end of their two years.   

Image (L–R): Horticulture trainees Alistair Bell, Hari Venkatesan, Brianna Loveland and Michael Rice.