As we approach the end of the year, we’re amazed at how eventful 2022 has been! Like everyone, we’ve had our ups and downs but our goal has always remained the same, to provide training that helps and meets the needs of the industry, and sets the standards for independent training for the landscape industry.
The Cost of Ignorance
From January to December, the rollercoaster of 2022 has taken us all on a journey. Looking back, we are so honoured to have trained so many enthusiastic and eager learners this year, all pushing their own development to improve standards for the industry and excel at the services they provide their clients. Seeing the industry understand that the cost of ignorance costs more than education has been hugely encouraging. We’ve followed the progress of many of our learners and it has been so rewarding to see how our training has helped them grow and develop as individuals and businesses, with many of them achieving their goals and well-deserved honours at RHS flowers shows and industry awards.
The 2022 training year started and ended with bespoke training for the London Stone sales team, who are committed to delivering high levels of customer service at all levels within the business.
Sandwiched in between, we saw an increase in demand for suppliers and manufacturers realising the potential growth investing in training provides. We welcomed a variety of likeminded businesses all leading the way to help raise standards in the industry including CTD, Verona and Aco.
Continual Improvement
Throughout the year, the team have always been striving to lead the way in independent landscape training. In 2022, we were proud to announce we become members of our supporting industry associations including as a Training Provider and an Accredited Supplier Member of Bali, Associate Member of the APL, Service Provider Member of the HTA, and an Affiliated Business Partner of the SGD. The support our associations provide to those in the industry with essential, and always gratefully received, assistance and encouragement, is reassuring to many. They are the back bone and unsung heroes of our community, leading us forward and showing us the path. Our ongoing partnership with Lantra has developed further and we are looking forward to continuing the development planned for training in the landscape sector.
The Landscape Industry
In 2022 we saw the return of a full calendar of industry events and we’ve been excited to have been able to share our expertise, knowledge and time to aid many of these.
Mark has been heavily involved in the APL Apprentice training at Myerscough College, as well as providing training support for the World Skills landscaping contestants and finalists. It was with great joy we witnessed Cameron Barker, accompanied by Richard Heys of Myerscough College, who won gold at World Skills in 2021, win the ‘UK’s Top Student’ award, a BALI Chalk Fund initiative, at this year’s BALI National Landscape Awards ceremony. The opportunities these schemes provide to the next generation of landscapers is essential for our industry’s growth, encouraging and supporting students and opening the way for a diverse range of career opportunities.
Our great RHS flowers shows made a return to their normal schedule and they did not disappoint! In a fantastic collaboration of expertise from across all land-based sectors, we saw exceptional displays of creativity and engineering skill! Mark gave a helping hand and guidance to some of the young designers and contractors at this years’ RHS Tatton flower show, and was proud to see the success they achieved after all their hard work.
We teamed up again with Futurescape to provide live demos, training advice and seminars, which drew lots of enthusiastic crowds . The dedication the Futurescape team show to always providing visitors with industry firsts, and up to news, makes this one of the top industry exhibitions.
One of the highlights from the event was the signing of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter for the Horticulture, Arboriculture, Landscaping & Garden Media professions. Working together the RHS, Arboricultural Association, BALI, The APL, GMG, SGD, HTA, YPHA, CIHort and the LI, have created a Charter promising to work towards a more diverse and inclusive culture which is great news for the wider industry.
Teamwork makes the dream work
We’ve been lucky to team up with some great businesses this year, all of whom are striving to provide our industry with tools and equipment to make our sector safer. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnerships to ensure we are providing our learners with high quality and safe equipment such as Ox Tools, and Groundscapes.
Our team have also been on their own journeys this year too, both personally and professionally. We welcomed back Paul Gough to the team after his break concentrating on his business, and said farewell to Gareth Wilson who has gone to peruse his dreams of building a garden on Chelsea’s main avenue. Mark has been honoured with a Fellowship from the PGCA, and Lynne achieved her own success in becoming the first in the industry to become a domestic landscape RICS Registered Expert Witness. We’ve worked across the board with Associations to support careers and apprenticeships with BALI’s GoLandscape and most recently, Lynne has been honoured to have been asked by the CIHort to become a key member of their new Education Committee.
Oh, and to top it all off, our dedication to provide training that meets the highest levels of service was recognised by BALI when we picked up a BALI award for Supplier Exceptional Service at the Marriott in December!
New horizons
2023 brings new horizons and new opportunities with the launch of our long-awaited Garden Designer courses, our exciting sustainability course in partnership with the UK’s leading environmental expert, Paul Cawsey of Organeco, in the New Year. We’ve got lots planned for 2023 with one or two big surprises up our sleeve, so keep an eye on our social media for our latest news.
Thank you to everyone who has trained with us in 2022, and support The Landscape Academy.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year.
The Landscape Academy Team
