RECRUITMENT & TRAINING
Nurturing the talent of the future A ‘school trip’ to Johnsons of Whixley made such an impression on a young Tom Watkins, that when he was offered the chance of joining the company, he jumped at it. Tom was offered a place on the company’s Growing Stars management trainee scheme, designed to cultivate young talent, two years ago, after finishing a degree in horticulture at Askham Bryan College in York. Despite an initial interest in landscaping, following a stint in the grounds of a hotel and spa during his degree, Tom realised production was where his true interests lay. This led him to Virginia, USA, for a nine-month post-graduate internship with a company that produced bedding plants. On completing the placement, Tom enquired about roles at Johnsons and was delighted to be accepted onto the Growing Stars programme. Running across four years, the programme aims to nurture the next generation of supervisors and managers. The programme includes on the job training, with technical and education modules; training experiences leading to a formal qualification in team leadership; horticultural skills; and operational modules on environmental issues, health and safety and IT. Trainees supported by mentor All trainees are supported by an external mentor and are continually assessed. Ultimately, the goal is to produce dedicated, motivated individuals with a full understanding of all aspects of the business. Tom said when he was offered the management traineeship, he couldn’t believe his luck: “I wanted to find a job in the York area so I was thrilled to be offered such a great opportunity. I’d visited Johnsons while studying, on a sort of ‘school trip’, and it really stuck with me once I’d finished my degree and internship in the US. “The training programme ensures you get to know each department within the company, in order to gain an understanding of how the company works as a whole, so over the past two years I’ve spent time in production, incoming goods, retail operation and sales. “It’s a big company with various departments so
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Tom Watkins
it’s important to understand how the whole business works. Each department is symbiotic, so it has been invaluable for me to both work in and learn the dynamics of each department. With an interest in growing, it could be easy to dismiss the procurement, sales, order processing and despatch processes that are in fact vital to the bigger picture.” Tom also spent time working on placement with one of Johnsons’ young plant and bare root suppliers in the Netherlands, Batouwe Nurseries, where he gleaned valuable insights. “I had always been aware of the strong stance that the