This Apprenticeship Week, we're sharing the stories of our apprentices who work with us here at Honeycomb Group.
Dan Kemp is one our gardeners at Staffs Housing.
He started off as an apprentice in 2000 and this year he's celebrating 10 years of working with us.
He explains why he chose an apprenticeship: "I wasn’t very academic at school so didn’t think I’d get into college. I had three course choices – engineering, decorating or gardening. I chose the gardening.
"After that I got an apprenticeship here at Staffs Housing before being offered a seasonal job. Then two years later I got a full time role at the company."
Dan is one of 8 full time gardeners, with the team growing to 12 over the spring and summer: "One of the highlights of working here is the team. We also have a lot of new faces that join us each year as seasonal staff and I like getting to know them and swapping tips.
"Every day is different and every site we look after is unique too. Looking after the plants is like looking after a pet, you see them grow up. Each season brings a new challenge."
Coming from an apprenticeship himself, Dan helps the new apprentices settle in and shows them the ropes: "I like teaching them and seeing them grow.
"They start off as young people and by the end they’ve become adults, and we’ve helped shape that journey. You can really have a positive impact on their lives."
You too could kickstart your gardening career today.
We're looking for a hard-working apprentice to join Dan and the rest our Gardening Team.
If helping maintain and improve landscapes, while learning on the job and gaining formal qualifications sounds like your ideal opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.
