"Guaranteed job with a horticultural degree"

In horticulture, getting enough qualified employees can be a challenge. There is a great need for good and knowledgeable staff. It's no wonder then that students from the horticultural education program at Inholland Delft University of Applied Sciences often graduate with a guaranteed job lined up for them.

The University of Applied Sciences in Delft offers various 'green' programs, including Horticulture & Agribusiness, an associate degree in Horticulture Management and the Food Commerce and Technology program that combines marketing and food technology.

The Horticulture & Agribusiness program is also offered as a flexible part-time variant since last year, which is ideal for employed individuals. According to Maarten Crum, Manager Recruitment, Inflow & Relationship Management, this is the future of education. "We started with twenty students last year, and their reactions are positive because the program fits in seamlessly with their needs. The program lasts 4 years, but can be shortened, depending on how much experience the student contributes."

Once every two weeks there is a contact moment between student and professor, but students can also attend lectures if they want to. At the start of the program, the student is assigned a learning coach. Together they put together a learning program, which is tailored to the student. "The students who register for this course often have a lot of experience," explains Maarten. "Instead of going through courses that they know well, the students can convert their experience into credits. For example, if you are an experienced breeder, you immediately take the breeding exam at the final level which gives you the credits of all the levels below. The training is divided into various core tasks with associated professional tasks. These are not concluded with exams, but with competence-based interviews. It is a conversation between teacher and student in which the student is extensively questioned about the course material.

In general, students who apply for horticultural training are types who have a connection with the sector already," says Maarten." You don't just register if you're not involved. Innovation, technology and food problems are frequently discussed. You see that those themes appeal to the students enormously. For example, in the Horticulture & Agribusiness program, they enthusiastically start working with vertical farming, aquaponics and closed cultivation systems. Also, the students of Food Commerce and Technology are also working with 3D food printing."

 

There is a lot of cooperation between the programs. For example, horticulture students have a project about the production of tomatoes. These tomatoes are extensively tested by the students of Food Commerce and Technology. Together they also address the issues that are supplied by the business community. "For example, an orchid grower contacts us with their expansion plans. We then ask the students: is this plan feasible? Companies pay a fee so we can conduct the research."

 

There are currently a total of about 500 students attending one of the green courses, including about 150 students Horticulture & Agribusiness in all grades. After they complete their studies, they end up at various companies. "Some of them will succeed a family member in the family business, others find work at large companies such as Optiflor and Rijk Zwaan, while some of them go on to study at Wageningen University." A former student has started working at the Berenschot consultancy firm and another one is now active in vanilla cultivation in Uganda." Former students regularly give guest lessons. "Their stories appeal to young people, and by giving them the floor, we recruit new students." The fact that job security is quite high is also an argument that many young people have an eye for. "They want to study something where they can find work. With a horticultural diploma under one's belt, you will be employed quickly."

For more information:

Maarten Crum