UK horticultural training and qualifications: the official routes and awarding bodies

UK horticultural training and qualifications: the official routes and awarding bodies

Qualifications in this industry are issued by a small number of awarding bodies, delivered by many colleges and training providers, and funded through government schemes. This page lists the bodies themselves, each linked to its own official website, so you can check courses and prices at source rather than through a third party.

This is a signposting directory, not a recommendation. We have no commercial relationship with any organisation listed, we do not receive payment for listing them, and listing one is not an endorsement of its courses.

First, know what kind of thing you are looking for

• A qualification (RHS, City & Guilds, Lantra Awards) — proves knowledge and is usually what employers mean by "a horticultural qualification".
• A ticket or certificate of competence (PA1/PA6 spraying, chainsaw CS30/CS31/CS38/CS39) — legally or practically required for specific hazardous tasks.
• An apprenticeship — paid employment plus study, leading to a recognised standard.
• A short course — plant identification, pruning, machinery, design software. Useful, not a qualification.

Awarding bodies

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) — the best-known horticultural qualification route in the UK, from Level 1 through to Level 3. RHS publishes its own qualification details and how to study them.

• https://www.rhs.org.uk/Education-Learning/Qualifications-and-Training/RHS-qualifications
• RHS careers in horticulture: https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/careers-horticulture

Lantra — sector skills body for land-based industries; also issues awards and certificates, including tree inspection and machinery units.

• https://www.lantra.co.uk

City & Guilds, including NPTC — the awarding body behind the NPTC certificates most arborists and landscapers hold (chainsaw units, pesticide application, climbing and aerial rescue).

• https://www.cityandguilds.com

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are the paid route in, and the standards relevant here include Horticulture or Landscape Construction Operative (Level 2), Horticulture or Landscaping Supervisor (Level 3), Horticulture and Landscaping Technical Manager (Level 5), Arborist (Level 2) and Forest Craftsperson (Level 3).

• Government apprenticeship guide (including current pay rules): https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
• Find and apply for an apprenticeship: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk
• Apply through GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Apprentice pay is set nationally and changes each April — always check the current rate at source rather than a published article.

Finding an actual course

• National Careers Service course search (England) — the government course finder, searchable by subject and location: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course
• Land-based colleges — the Land-Based Colleges group lists its member colleges: https://nlbc.uk/partners/members/
• T Levels in Agriculture, Land Management and Production, for school leavers: https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/

Safety tickets and certificates of competence

• HSE guidance on chainsaw training and certification — the legal position on who may use a chainsaw at work: https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/site-management/training.htm
• PA1 and PA6 (pesticide handling and hand-held application) are City & Guilds NPTC certificates, delivered by approved training providers.

Professional bodies worth knowing

These are membership and professional-development bodies rather than course providers, but they publish careers guidance and training routes:

• British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) — https://www.bali.org.uk
• The Arboricultural Association — https://www.trees.org.uk/Careers
• Royal Forestry Society — https://rfs.org.uk/careers/
• Grow Careers (industry careers hub) — https://www.horticulture.org.uk/grow-careers/heritage-conservation/

Volunteering, which counts as experience

Some paid roles are easier to enter with demonstrable hours behind you. These organisations publish their own volunteering routes:

• The Conservation Volunteers — https://www.tcv.org.uk/volunteering
• National Trust — https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/
• The Wildlife Trusts — https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/about-us/what-we-do/helping-everyone-take-action-nature/volunteer

How to check a training provider is legitimate

1. Is the qualification on the awarding body's own site? If RHS, City & Guilds or Lantra does not list it, treat the claim with care.
2. Is the provider an approved centre? Ask for the centre number and check it with the awarding body.
3. Is funding involved? Advanced learner loans and apprenticeship funding have official rules — check gov.uk, not the provider's brochure.
4. Is it a qualification or a certificate of attendance? Both can be useful, but only one is a qualification.

What this page does not do

We do not list individual courses, because courses change term by term and we cannot verify each one. We do not claim any provider is "the best", and we do not imply that any organisation endorses this site. Where we state that an organisation exists and what it does, the link goes to that organisation's own website so you can verify it yourself.

Where to go next

Once you know which route suits you, the qualifications directory lists the individual qualifications with a link to the awarding body for each. You can see how each qualification fits a longer career in our career pathways, compare routes in horticulture qualifications in the UK and which RHS qualification is right for you, or go straight to horticulture jobs and live vacancies.

Every link on this page was tested on 3 November 2026.