Certificate in Nursery Stock Production - South East Technological University

***Please note - entry to this L7 Cert requires applicants to have at least a full L6 Award in Horticulture. Please see the 'Entry' tab for more information on suitable qualifications accepted for entry***

If you are interested in applying for this course please email [email protected] for application details and we can deal with individual queries then.

This certificate*** will focus on developing your nursery stock production, management and planning skills.

On successful completion of this certificate, a student will be able to:

Demonstrate in a safe working environment, a range of cultural tasks associated with nursery stock production including, budding, grafting, potting and planting.
Appraise the production of nursery stock crops such as bedding plants, liners, containerised plants and open ground stock.
Propose a crop protection programme appropriate to the nursery stock crop grown e.g. bedding plants, liners, containerised plants and open ground production systems.
Determine appropriate nutritional programs and compost specifications for a nursery stock crop.
Appraise a range of irrigation methods.
Investigate the effects of various propagation environments and materials for the production of liners.
Relate the requirements of the nursery stock quality assurance schemes and standard specifications to management strategies.

Delivery

In-person attendance required

Cost

€650

Areas covered will include the following

Crop requirements: Nutritional programmes, planning a crop protection programme, propagation systems, compost specification, sources of material, budding and grafting for field tree production, planting techniques and harvesting techniques. For a range of specific crops such as bedding plants, linear production: Open ground trees and shrubs.
Management approaches to nursery stock: planning the physical layout of a nursery, schedule production programmes, irrigation systems, monitoring crop performance, sustainable plant production systems and use of contemporary new developments.
Quality assurance schemes: Quality standard specification for bedding, liners, trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Prior Qualifications

Students will be required to have formal horticultural education prior to admission. Evidence of such qualifications will be assessed by SETU Waterford prior to admission. The following table gives a list of horticultural qualifications to gain entry to these awards. Students presenting with suitable qualifications examined in English will be deemed to have demonstrated proficiency in English.

Title: FETAC Award in Horticulture 5M2586 and level 6 award 6M4334

Duration: 2 years

Programme: Any recognised FETAC provider of horticultural programme

Title: Teagasc – Certificate in Horticulture

Duration: 1 year full-time programme

Programme: Students must have attended a Teagasc Horticultural College – Kildalton College, Warrenstown or National Botanic Gardens. This original Certificate in Horticulture programme was more extensive than the current FETAC Award in horticulture 5M2586.

Title: Teagasc – Advanced Certificate in Hortitculture

Duration: An add on year to the Certificate in Horticulture

Programme: Students must have attended a Teagasc Horticultural College – Kildalton College, Warrenstown or National Botanic Gardens. 6.

Title: ACOT/Teagasc/FETAC Diploma in Horticulture

Duration: 3 year programme

Programme: Students must have attended an ACOT or Teagasc Horticultural programme

Title: Dept of Agriculture/ACOT Senior Certificate in Horticulture

Duration: 2 years

Programme: Department of Agriculture / ACOT Horticulture programme

Other horticultural qualifications, which meet or exceed the above standards e.g. the BSc. in Horticulture will be accepted and others such as those from Greenmount College NI or other UK, European Horticultural colleges, or foreign institutions will be considered and evaluated by SETU Waterford as to their appropriateness.

Progression, Employment, Transfer of Certificate Graduates

Students who subsequently choose to apply and enter into Year 1 of the BSc in Horticulture will receive exemptions for modules they have successfully passed at the appropriate year.

Students who wish to enter the BSc in Horticulture as transfer students into either Year 2 or Year 3 must meet the entry requirements as set out in the existing established transfer mechanism. Exemptions for modules students have successfully completed will be granted. Students wishing to transfer into Year 3, an award year, will be advised as to the appropriateness of accepting a record of educational achievement rather than a certificate.

These minor awards offer structured continuous professional development opportunities to those already working in the industry.

The Certificate in Nursery Stock Production offers structured continuous professional development opportunities to those already working in the horticulture industry. This level 7 certificate will allow quicker progression to supervisory or managerial roles and will also allow candidates to diversify and update their horticulture knowledge.