First-Ever Green Career Week Was a Great Success
November 5, 2022 
Every grower knows that there is a crunch in the labor market. Many experienced growers are leaving the workforce, and it is challenging to recruit young people to the horticulture industry. Seed Your Future is working to expose young people to horticulture and promote its endless career opportunities. Seed Your Future recently launched its first Green Career Week, an opportunity to engage with young people and teach them about their future in horticulture.
Green Career Week took place from Oct. 3-7. Jazmin Albarran, Executive Director of Seed Your Future, says members of the horticulture industry want to connect with local schools and students, but may not know how to engage with them. The goal of Green Career Week is to connect industry professionals to the local community.
Albarran says each participant was asked to invite high school students to their operation, visit the students at their school, or share information about their company on social media to highlight their staff and career opportunities. Nearly 140 businesses registered for Green Career Week, Albarran says, and 40 participated on social media.
“It was good to see those that participated came out and got involved. Many businesses are still planning to do something with the schools in the future,” she says. “Hopefully that momentum and excitement will stay to get students excited about the green industry. Businesses can continue to post about their staff, company culture, and careers, and tag local schools.”
Loma Vista Nursery in Ottawa, KS, was “all in,” Albarran says. Nursery team members shared many posts on social media highlighting their team members, company culture, and values. They interviewed staff members about why they chose their career. They also mentioned the company’s focus on mentoring and offered tips for young people looking to join the horticulture industry. Four Ball Horticultural employees spoke to students at West Chicago High School and shared information about their careers in marketing, sales, logistics, and research and development.
In preparation for Green Career Week, Albarran shared resources with registrants, such as a template press release and a media kit.
“Our Plant Power quiz is available to students. They were participating and using our resources, and that’s why we created them — for the industry to connect with students. We’re creating tools, materials, and resources for the end user, the student, but we want the industry to use them as resources to connect with the community.”
Students were engaged in conversations with growers. They asked questions about USDA inspections, tissue culture, pest management, and managing offshore farms. To continue engagement with students year-round, Albarran says businesses can use hashtags such as #greencareers, #ilovemyplantjob, #plantology, and #seedyourfuture on social media.
“Don’t just tell students to buy plants. Tell them they can work here and show them the positions. Information technology, marketing, human resources, accounting, all of these are necessary for a business,” Albarran says. “A lot of work went into making that plant. It’s an incredible story. Between the time and amount of careers that touch that plant, it’s impressive and it shows the passion of the industry. That’s the messaging I hope the industry incorporates into their websites and social media. Let people know we put in work, and you can work in this industry, too.”
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