Horticulture Technician Fanshawe College

Overview

The Horticulture Technician  Graduate Diploma offered at Fanshawe College students graduate from a nationally-renowned program prepared for an exciting career as a horticulture technician.

Learn how to build and maintain landscapes, gardens and indoor spaces, and study arboriculture, landscape design, plant identification, plant production and business management. This program offers a unique emphasis on the practical aspects of horticulture, where you will gain work experiences during two co-op work terms, the on-campus greenhouse designed exclusively for students, as well as in the world-class Fanshawe College Botanical Gardens. This includes the hundred acre ‘living lab’ that is Fanshawe’s London Campus and the A.M. Cuddy Garden near Strathroy, which houses a remarkable collection of rare and endangered plants, and is recognized as a botanical garden by Botanic Gardens Conservation International. 

The Horticulture Technician diploma program develops students’ academic and practical skill level that allows them to easily match a growing need in the green profession. With over 1,600 horticulture positions available in Ontario annually (according to Landscape Ontario), all graduates can be fully employed in their field.

During the program, students may choose to complete optional training in chainsaw use and the provincial pesticide license. Fanshawe College is the first institution in North America to integrate the CLT (Certified Landscape Technician) national standard of proficiency into the program. Students will complete practical and written tests during their senior year and if successful gain the CLT designation.

Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)

This Fanshawe College program is aligned with IRCC's Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 01.0601. Please consult the IRCC website to verify current Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) alignment.

Career opportunities:

Fanshawe's Horticulture Technician program is held in high regard throughout the industry. Demand for graduates of the program is very high across all facets of the industry including landscape and garden construction and maintenance, plant production in greenhouses and nurseries, golf course development and construction, arboriculture and garden centre and horticulture sales.

Here are some examples of career opportunities for graduates of Fanshawe’s Horticulture Technician program:

• Horticulturalist

Develop, grow and harvest fruits, vegetables and decorative plants. 

• Landscape Technician

Design and implement hardscape and softscape installations.

• Horticulture Technician

Transplant, ship, pot, maintain, prune and diagnose problems to maximize yield in a people-oriented retail environment.