We’re so proud to introduce you to Joshua Owen, one of our valued APG Edinburgh employees who has recently received his Certificate III in Horticulture.
Josh started work with Bedford as a forklift driver in the timber warehouse at Gepps Cross. In 2017 he was looking for a change and thought that APG might be a good fit. Josh’s work with APG has included a variety of general landscaping duties such as installing irrigation, laying turf, planting, spreading mulch, and driving work vehicles and equipment to location.
Hamish Small, APG Northern Operations Manager, tells us that “Josh is a solid performer, dependable and a very important member of our team. He takes a lot of pride in his work and it has been great to watch him develop his skills over the past 5 years.”
The work has suited Josh so much that two years ago he decided he wanted to pursue further education to turn his ‘day job’ into a longer-term career. APG were happy to support Josh in his studies, and while he worked three days a week he had plenty of time to attend TAFE SA on Thursdays and Fridays, and to complete his assignments for Certificates II and III in Horticulture.
Hamish says, “Any staff member who wants to commit to getting advanced credentials in Horticulture will be a huge benefit to us in our work. We are certainly happy to be flexible in order to support study goals.”
Josh tells us that his favourite part of the course was learning how to operate a variety of power tools safely. He recommends anyone pursuing study if they’re interested in Horticulture. “There was a wide range of people doing the course, a lot of older people changing careers, and younger people starting out, but we all got along well and helped each other,” Josh says.
Now that Josh has succeeded with his study, he has increased his hours to full time, a long-term dream of his, and APG are happy to schedule him to the full five days. Josh has no further plans to pursue a Diploma course at this stage, but the option is there for the future.
So what does he get up to in all of his ‘spare’ time now? Josh is an avid memorabilia collector, and Hamish tells us that Josh “…knows more about Star Wars than anyone I have ever met!” (May the force be with you, Josh.)
Josh also happens to be an accomplished archer with a number of medals in the sport. He’s certainly hit the bullseye with his study!
If you are on an NDIS plan and would like to find out more about a career with APG, go to our APG page for more information.
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