Explore: Food production

Herb Production Worker
Humber VHB

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Roger B

0:00:02 Hello. My name’s Roger B. I work at Humber VHB and my job title is Herb Production Worker. The very first step is of the sown-, in the sowing machines, you sow, you use to sow the seeds into the pots and, and they get sent out to all these lines out here where they get watered and they’ll keep an eye on them, make sure they’re growin’ all right. And then eventually they get sent back down to another area where they’re boxed and packed ready for dispatch.

00:00:32 When I actually went to school I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted to do. Didn’t plan any particular job or anything like that. I did get worried at one point because all the people I knew, knew exactly what they wanted to do for jobs and I thought, I haven’t planned this and I don’t really know what I wanted to do but I felt like I was the only person that thought, well, what do I do next? I don’t, I had a lot of thoughts going through my head.

00:00:59 I wasn’t a very good pupil. I had a lot of time off school. So, the teachers didn’t really think I’d do very well. I just bunked off school a lot. I didn’t really pass any GCSEs. Was a terrible student really. So, they didn’t really think much of me. They said I had potential but all the time I was at school I just didn’t have the get up and go to do it. I just really didn’t really wanna know. Too busy having fun I suppose.

00:01:30 My parents were nagging me a bit and well, they didn’t pressure me like, to just get any random job. They gave me a bit of time to think about what I wanted and all that but they were generally quite good about it really but they said I did need to get a job pretty soon. So, I was looking for a job and I had a friend that already worked here and I just asked to tell us any jobs going and asked him what he done there. I thought it sounds something a bit different. I thought I’d like to do something a bit different from what everyone else did and I applied for the job and luckily enough they took me on.

00:02:06 I know I could have done a lot better at school. I think I could have passed most my GCSEs and everything. I’m quite lucky that even though I did do so bad at school I kind of fell on my feet and have got the job I have. There’s a lot of people I still know now from when I was at school still struggling, going from job to job. So, I was kinda lucky really to get where I am.

00:02:30 I was always a very shy person but when you start a job you have to get to know people. You have to talk to people don’t you? So, it’s not like you have a lot of choice but it’s a nice push. It’s nice being made to do it because I probably wouldn’t have done it without it and I like it now because I can just talk to people now about anything and it just helps me out in life just having that bit more confidence. It’s just built up from over the years and hopefully it’ll carry on.

00:02:56 It was quite nerve-wracking thinking that I have to go away on my own, do courses and see people. I don’t have a clue who they are and that but I just, I wanted to learn more and I wanted to be able to do more different jobs at work. I didn’t wanna just be stuck doing the same routine day in and day out. I wanted to expand a bit more and to get on in life you do have to learn and you do have to put the time in to, if you wanna get anywhere in life, which is what I didn’t realize back when I was at school. I didn’t really care. But now I’ve brightened up a bit and I’ve learned to enjoy it and like, enjoy learning more now.

00:03:32 I haven’t got any thoughts about leaving anytime soon. I think I’d like to stay here and hopefully they’ll offer me more courses and different opportunities and I can just learn more and more and hopefully build my way up. I have to see what happens but I seem to be doing all right at the moment.

ENDS

Roger B is a Herb Production Worker. “I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted to do.” With few qualifications Roger found a job through a friend. He says “I didn’t really care. But now I’ve brightened up a bit and I’ve learned to enjoy it and like, enjoy learning more now.”

More information about Horticultural trades

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£24,440
average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

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75
average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

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59%  male 
41%  female 

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description
? Horticultural trades workers intensively cultivate vegetables, plants, fruit, shrubs, trees and flowers in greenhouses, market gardens, nurseries and orchards.
Qualifications
There are no formal academic entry requirements. NVQs/SVQs in Horticulture are available at Levels 1, 2 and 3. Professional qualifications from the Royal Horticultural Society are also available.
Tasks
  • Prepares soil in field, bed or pot by hand or machine;
  • Mixes soil, composts, fertilisers and/or organic matter and spreads fertiliser and manure;
  • Sows seeds and bulbs and transplants seedlings;
  • Propagates plants by taking cuttings and by grafting and budding, applies weed-killer, fungicide and insecticide to control pests and diseases;
  • Prunes and thins trees and shrubs;
  • Supports trees by staking and wiring.
Employment by region
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Top 10 industries for this job
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Agriculture, etc 11776
Retail trade 2117
Employment status
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