Name: Anthony Wright

Job Title: Assistant Gardener (YHN Garden Care Service, Walker Riverside)

Dates of Employment at YHN: January 2007 - present

What Tony says about working for YHN:

'I joined YHN on the Horticultural Apprentice Scheme in January 2007 whilst studying for my NVQ Level 2 in Amenity Horticulture at Newcastle’s John Marley Centre. Throughout the year as a trainee at the Garden Care Scheme I learnt a range of new skills including using power tools such as Hedgecutter, Lawnmower, Strimmer, Chipper/Shredder, Rotavator and Cultivator. All the machinery I used was the best you can buy in the industry so I knew I was in good hands!'

'As part of my apprenticeship I received one to one training on machines, daily training from my supervisor on garden maintenance techniques and built up a good plant knowledge at the same time. I was also put through my First Aid training, PA1 and PA6 Pesticide courses.'

'When my apprenticeship was coming to and end, the Garden Care scheme had expanded enough in the past year to take on two extra garden staff. It was an internal vacancy so all the trainees were able to apply. I and my colleague Dan were lucky enough to be picked for the job. We joined two other new starters from outside the company to form a new team to take on the new work areas the Garden Scheme had expanded into. Now that I’m moving up I hope in the future I can study for the qualifications to become a supervisor myself and pass on my skills and knowledge to others.’

My key responsibilities include:

• Excellent communication with customers regarding the progress of their maintenance plan and discussing work to take place on each visit and visits in the future.
• Carrying out garden maintenance tasks on a monthly basis to over 1500 tenancies in the Newcastle area.
• Ensuring all my tools and machinery are well maintained throughout the week, as I use a lot of fuel powered machinery, ensuring they are clean and in good order is a necessity.
  

Read 'a day in the life' profile here.