Are you part of the next generation of food growers? Looking to develop your skills and hands on experience in a sustainable and diverse environment? Be part of an operational food growing and horticultural centre in the heart of North London?
We are delighted to be able to recruit two paid apprentice growers 18-25y/o at the Wolves Lane Centre, to work with the various growers and groups on site to get work-based training in small-scale commercial growing, as a first step in their career in food growing. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, neurodivergent, people from BPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, and intersections therein, as they are under-represented in the horticulture/farming sector.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Organic produce is grown at Wolves Lane and our satellite site Pasteur Gardens, both outside and under glass. Different parts of the site are operated by different groups with the produce distributed to the Wolves Lane cooking project, to a local produce stall, to restaurants, and for local sale.
For this apprentice post, we are looking for someone interested in pursuing a livelihood as a food grower or landworker, and seeking to gain the skills and experience to further this aim. You will be supported by our on-site Community Educator but will have the opportunity to work across the various growing projects at Wolves Lane and tailor your work experience according to your particular interests. Apprentices will work together, as well as being primarily hosted by our Wolves Lane Lead Grower, and growers from Black Rootz, a black-led antiracist enterprise, specialising in growing diaspora crops.
Salary: London Living Wage £11.95 per hour
Hours: 3 days per week, 7 hour days, ideally Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Employment period: 30 weeks (until end of November 2023).
Responsible to: Wolves Lane Consortium board.
Closing date for applications: Midnight 16th April 2023
Interviews to be held on: 26th April 2023, for 1 hour. Interviews will be held in person at Wolves Lane Centre, N22 5JD. Finalists will then be invited for a paid trial day.
MAIN APPRENTICESHIP OBJECTIVES
- To learn about and assist with all aspects of planting, growing and maintaining produce sustainably in an urban setting
- To learn about and assist with all aspects of harvesting, preparing, and selling produce
- To learn how to provide support for volunteers
- To participate fully in the Apprenticeship Programme and commit to share learnings with the next round of Apprentices.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Trainees will learn all aspects of running our urban growing project and horticulture centre by:
- Assisting the grower on site 3 days a week, split between our Wolves Lane Lead Grower and the growers at Black Rootz.
- Work closely with the Wolves Lane Growers to learn all aspects of running the glasshouses, outdoor beds and composting systems. This might include seed sowing, potting on, planting out, weeding, watering, harvesting, making compost, record keeping, supporting distribution of veg, and any other associated tasks on site.
- Harvesting produce to the agreed methods, ensuring quality control and preparing and packing produce according.
- Supporting and supervising volunteers.
- Gaining experience supervising the workday and harvest when the grower is absent.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Skills, Knowledge, Ability, Commitments
Desirable
- A demonstrable interest and passion for sustainable and socially diverse food growing and production, horticulture and landwork
- One season’s experience of volunteering or working on a food growing site or garden
- Happy and able to work mainly outdoors throughout the year
- Excellent listening and time management skills
- Demonstrable experience of performing physical work with pressure to deliver
- Experience of volunteering or working in a diverse community setting
- Knowledge or direct experience of the local community near Wolves Lane
- Ability to carry out shared tasks and work effectively within a team
- Ability to supervise and explain tasks to other clearly and with compassion
- Experience of paid employment in horticulture or a structured placement in horticulture
- Level 1 or 2 horticultural qualification or equivalent
- Can demonstrate clearly why this apprenticeship is right for you
HOW TO APPLY
Please read the role description and person specification below.
To apply, please send the following to jobs@wolveslane.org, with ‘Apprentice Grower and _YOUR NAME_’ in the email title:
- Your CV (or statement of your work/volunteer history)
- A cover letter or a video, letting us know how you think your skills, interest and experience makes this apprenticeship right for you.
- Completed equalities monitoring form
We welcome applications from you even if you feel you don’t fulfil every element of the person specification.
For any questions or further information, please email education@wolveslane.org
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DIVERSITY MONITORING
Wolves Lane Consortium is committed to eliminating discrimination encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. We will not discriminate with reference to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, marital status, and disability. To help ensure our recruitment process is fair and equitable, we collect diversity data from applicants to our roles, using the separate equalities monitoring form.
Data Protection Note
Any personal data you provide (e.g., address, telephone number, employment history) will be used for recruitment purposes only, and only shared with individuals involved in the recruitment process.