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December 09  
Kate Gibson, Marketing and Academic Officer

ACS Distance Education

P: 07 5562 1088  F: 07 5562 1099

[email protected]

Economic downturn:  Crisis or ‘growing’ opportunity

Do you want to drastically reduce your weekly grocery bill, earn extra cash to cover increased living expenses or just find work in a secure and growing sector?

The financial crisis has led us to think more about our financial situation and to rethink our options when it comes to employment and saving money. The Horticultural sector, including careers in Horticulture, offers us a number of potential answers.

Options include growing vegies at home or buying from Farmers Markets. Farmers Markets are booming and so are the hobby farms and small businesses that supply them. Some major seed companies have apparently reported double digit growth in vegetable seed sales across Australia in recent years.

If you are looking for a career change, the Horticultural career sector is thriving. According to ACS Distance Education Principal John Mason, more than half of Australia’s professional horticulturists left the industry in some sectors in recent years.  Mr Mason said ‘As a result there is a deficiency in qualified horticulturists’. Anyone who has a background in plant science, can tell a weed from a plant and can properly identify at least 300 different plants will have a large range of possibilities for work in front of them.’ ACS is in a unique position to help, offering a range of horticulture courses and qualifications ranging from Certificates to Diplomas. These are substantial "old school" courses, often taking longer than TAFE qualifications, but covering a great deal more ground. Graduates from ACS have a track record for outstanding success in horticulture across Australia and beyond.

As finances tighten, workers are increasingly forced to look for a second job to make ends meet. Horticulture also offers a huge range of potential part time employment opportunities, from lawn mowing to working in plant nurseries or places such as Bunnings, with many of these business requiring extra workers on the weekend. The earning potential of workers within the Horticulture Field has also increased. According to John Mason, ‘Five years ago, people would mow lawns for $15 per hour. Today in cities it can be difficult to get your lawn mown for less than $30 per hour.’

ACS Distance Education offers over 120 courses in horticulture from hobby to diploma level.  To ensure you have the right advice to start your horticulture career ACS provides Free Course & Career Counselling.  Contact [email protected], or visit www.acs.edu.au, www.hortcourses.com

More Information

ACS Distance Education was established in 1979 and has educated thousands of students in over 70 countries.