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Horticulture

Kildalton College, the largest land based college in Ireland and has been providing horticultural education since 1971. With a total student population of over 1400, there is a great mix of students from all parts of the country and beyond studying at Kildalton College.

View from the sky of the horticultural unit - greenhouses and tunnels.

A Career in Horticulture

Horticulture as a career has always attracted people from different backgrounds and experience and our classes at Kildalton are generally a mix of young and mature students, Irish and International. Kildalton welcomes horticultural enthusiasts of all walks of life on their courses. The horticultural unit at Kildalton is the largest horticultural education unit in Ireland. It offers students a unique opportunity to experience a diverse range of horticultural sectors through the extensive horticultural unit and classroom learning. With a number of commercial based business on site, students gain real life experience of working within the horticultural industry.

Progression Opportunities

Kildalton College offers students the opportunity to study horticulture on a full time or part time basis. Those studying on a part time basis can build up credits to achieve a full certificate over a number of years. Students also have the opportunity to progress their horticultural education from Levels 5 to Level 7 and beyond in conjunction with our partners SETU and other higher level institutions. Students on our full time courses also gain work experience within their chosen area of the horticultural industry. The duration of work experience varies with each of the full time courses.

Job Opportunities

Many of our graduates of horticulture have developed enterprises such as specialised nurseries, niche food crop production or cut foliage production while others have set up their own landscaping businesses or are now working in the sportsturf industry. Horticultural students at Kildalton College experience a vast range of training inside the classroom and as well as learning practical techniques and skills employed by the industry while working in the college horticulture units.

Whether you want to work in a laboratory, an arboretum or a golf course, those with green fingers can find a suitable outlet in horticulture.

Thinking of a career in horticulture? David Hannon is currently studying Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture specialising in Sportsturf Management in Kildalton College. In this short clip hear why he chose this course and also how he is finding it.

Thinking of a career in horticulture? Louise O'Toole is currently studying Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture specialising in Food Production in Kildalton College. In this short clip hear how she is finding the course and why she chose to study horticulture.

Thinking of a career in horticulture? Paul Merrigan is currently studying Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture specialising in Nursery Production & Garden Centre. In this short clip hear why he is chose to study horticulture and how he is finding the course.

Thinking of a career in horticulture? Eoin Kelly is currently studying es: Teagasc Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture in Kildalton College. In this short clip hear how he is finding the course and also why he chose to study in the Horticulture.