Horticulture Apprentice Review
at Historic Royal Palaces
Level 2 Apprenticeship
Environmental Science
Hillsborough, County Down
Review Submitted: April 2025
Overall Rating
4.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4.5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
4.8/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
My role as part of the garden team varies almost everyday with different tasks that are need to be done around the castle and gardens could vary from weeding the flower beds to pruning shrubs. I enjoy the variety in my role.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
I'm really enjoying my programme its been a lot to take in but there is a great team with a lot of experience and knowledge that are more than willing to help me which makes it a great place to learn.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I've already learned so much from my time here, I had very little experience in the field before I started my apprenticeship so there is still a lot of room for learning.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
5/5
Its fairly well organised I would be informed of the tasks i need to do with a brief in the morning and then at college they have a year long catalogue of what we will be doing there.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I have received a lot of support from my manager and my colleagues to date. Whether its been work related if I feel I'm not picking something up or if its been for personal reasons I've had some help from everyone
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
At college we have to identify plants as part of our programme once a month and my manager [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the Higherin Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] has me bring in the list and we would walk around the castle grounds finding the plants from my task list and she would explain a little about it. Great help
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
5/5
I had very little experience in the gardening world before starting my apprenticeship so getting some time at college to learn and just work with different things has been a great help to me in my role in the team.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
The palaces are always hosting events, at the beginning of the month I got involved in the Daffodil show hosted here at Hillsborough with a few colleagues and really enjoyed participating in that staging of the flowers was a great learning experience for me personally
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Historic Royal Palaces to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Its a great place to learn. The staff are more than willing to help you in your learning. The gardens are amazing and its nice to see the results of your hard work.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Historic Royal Palaces?
I would just say that my experience here at Historic Royal Palaces is the more you put into the apprenticeship the more you will get out of it.
