Does the idea of earning while you learn sound good to you? This four year program consists of eight weeks each year of classroom instruction, and a minimum of 1,260 hours of on-the-job training per period of classroom instruction. You will receive hands-on experience ranging from botany, landscape design, operating machinery and basic surveying, irrigation, horticulture marketing and greenhouse production; gaining foundational knowledge in every part of the industry and the skills required to start out on your own.
This is a designated trade with restricted activities.
This is a Red Seal trade. Apprentices who have obtained Journeyperson certification are encouraged to write the national standard exam. The Red Seal, when affixed to a provincial or territorial trade certificate, indicates that a tradesperson has demonstrated the knowledge required for the national standard in that trade.
Journeyperson Certification is through AIT and an educational credential.
2024-2025 Classroom Instruction registration opens on May 21, 2024 through your MyTradesecrets account.
When you graduate from your apprenticeship education program, you will earn an Advanced Diploma. A credential in a designated trade also qualifies you for an Alberta Journeyperson Certificate, which authorizes you to work unsupervised in your trade. You'll receive both at the same time.
Please visit Alberta’s Apprenticeship & Industry Training website to Begin an Apprenticeship.
Please refer to the current Fee Schedule for complete details.
Alberta Apprenticeship & Industry Training – Landscape Horticulturist Technician:
First Period Training Topics include: workplace safety and occupational skills; tools, equipment, and vehicles; site assessment, grading, and drainage; plant properties, grassland, and parkals; soil and water; and turfgrass and exterior softscape maintenance.
Second Period Training Topics include: surveying and site assessment; conservation; hardscape installation and maintenance; physiology, boreal, montane, and wetland plans; landscape pests; and softscape installation and pruning.
Third Period Training Topics include: project management; landscape construction and irrigation; softscape maintenance; sustainable horticultural practices; urban forestry and arboriculture; and growing facilities.
Fourth Period Training Topics include: business administration; contract management; landscape design; sustainable landscape technologies; specialty crops; and nursery production and greenhouse crops.
Landscape Horticulturists can find employment in a variety of industries that will take advantage of their expertise in ground and plant maintenance and landscape construction, including:
Visit ALIS to find Occupational Profiles with current wages, industry trends and more!
Find out when your term start and end dates are, so that you know when you are expected to be in attendance. For more information, please review the Program Dates & Fee Schedule.
You will be registered into your classes automatically. This will happen approximately 1 month prior to the start-date for your program. You will be notified once you have been timetabled into your courses. You will be able to see your class schedule in your My Olds College account. If you need to make any changes to your class registration, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
It is strongly recommended that you come to Olds College of Agriculture & Technology with the following technology:
As part of your student accounts, all students have access to Office 365 for the duration of their time with Olds College. To access this you just need to follow these steps:
This will give you access to the full Office suite on your computer, for both Windows and Mac based platforms.
All apprentices are required to purchase the following items prior to the start of your program:
Warm outdoor work clothes
Work gloves
CSA approved boots (steel toe)
Period Specific Equipment
Period 1: No extra equipment required.
Period 2: Within the first few days of class, apprentices will be required to pay $50.19 at the Tool Room in the WJE Trades Building. *Please save your receipt*. Bring the receipt to your next class to receive your two circle templates and scale ruler; without the receipt you will not be issued your tools.
Period 3: Please bring your circle templates and scale ruler from Period 2. There is no equipment to borrow and you will have to repurchase if your templates and ruler are lost or damaged.
Period 4: (1) Apprentices are required to pay $150 for their Design Kit Tool Tags. You will receive a refund when you return the kit at the end of your training; and (2) please bring your circle templates and scale ruler from Period 2.
Information on other required textbooks and any further supplies will be provided as you attend each class. All books and supplies will be available during the first few weeks of classes in the College Campus Store.
Safety Regulations: Wearing safety equipment and abiding by industry safety standards is mandatory within our program.
Apprenticeship ILMs: We use the Apprenticeship ILMs (Individual Learning Modules) as our reference material. These modules take the place of textbooks and are available at the Olds College Campus Store at 1.800.661.6537 or 403.556.4630. They are packaged by classroom instruction period.
Employment Insurance: Information on applying for Employment Insurance benefits is provided in your MyTradesecrets account
"It’s refreshing to learn from instructors who have first-hand knowledge of the material we are studying. The knowledge I gained through studying at Olds College, combined with my on-the-job training, gave me the confidence to start my own landscape construction /maintenance company after the third year of my apprenticeship program."
Bruce Malmstrom, A Step Above Landscaping, 4th Year Landscape Gardener
