Jeff Lanman, executive director at International Floral Distributors, spoke to students in a horticulture business class at Tri Junior-Senior High School in Straughn, Indiana, as part of Seed Your Future’s Green Career Week.
Seed Your Future’s Green Career Week, held Oct. 3 to 7, gave professionals in the floriculture and horticulture industries an opportunity to speak to students about career opportunities in those fields and plant seeds for a budding new workforce.
More than 125 businesses registered to take part in the inaugural event to highlight careers in the green industries by asking floral professionals to talk with students at school or invite them to their business, and promote careers on social media.
“This was a great way for professionals to make lasting connections in their communities for mentorships, internships, and hopefully, jobs,” says Seed Your Future Executive Director Jazmin Albarran. “It’s exciting to see the industry collectively work to build tomorrow’s workforce.”
Alyson Upshaw, social media manager at Ball Horticultural Company, who spoke with high school students as part of the event, agreed.
Employees of Ball Horticultural Company spoke with students at West Chicago High School about careers in marketing, sales, logistics, and research and development.
“I think it’s going to be essential for our industry to engage this next generation, whether it’s high school or college, because to keep us fresh, to keep us thriving as an industry, we need that young talent,” says Upshaw. “It’s so important to bring awareness that there are so many careers within our industry — not just the landscapers, but the salesmen, marketers, and people dealing with logistics.”
Upshaw and three of her colleagues spoke with students at West Chicago High School about careers in marketing, sales, logistics, and research and development. In their 15-minute presentations, each discussed their unique perspective about the field and how they contribute to it.
The students were extremely engaged and eager to learn more, Upshaw says.
“They asked questions about what we majored in to get into our careers, and they asked some very specific science questions and questions about different government restrictions,” she says. “They were very engaged, asking some great questions specific to each of us.”
Ball plans to have the students spend a day touring their facilities and learning more about different careers. They also gave students young plants to grow in their school’s greenhouse.
Jeff Lanman, executive director at International Floral Distributors, a marketing company owned by wholesalers, spoke to students in a horticulture business class at Tri Junior-Senior High School in Straughn, Indiana. During his presentation to about 15 students — who were juniors and seniors taking the course as an elective — he discussed the tools professionals use when drafting business plans.
In addition to making connections with students, the event helped Lanman form relationships with three agriculture instructors. He plans to stay in touch with them and schedule future classroom visits —an experience he thinks industry professionals should engage in regularly.
“As an industry, we need to be proactive and reach out,” Lanman says.
Jeanne Boes, general manager at the San Francisco Flower Market, is also working toward sowing the seeds for tomorrow’s workforce. She spent Green Career Week working with the city’s school district to plan activities for the coming months, including having middle schoolers tour the market and high schoolers participate in a mentorship program.
Boes is excited to work closely with students because it will benefit them, as well as the market and its customers.
“The goal is twofold: The students definitely benefit if they’re able to find a career they’re passionate about in the floral industry,” she says. “And then, on the flip side, the small businesses that are either tenants or customers of the market have a whole new generation of people who live and work in San Francisco as a source of labor.”
Green Career Week is one of many efforts Seed Your Future has undertaken to help build tomorrow’s workforce. In conjunction with the American Floral Endowment, Seed Your Future is also conducting a survey to collect information about salaries in the green industries. Click here to take the survey.
The next Green Career Week is scheduled for Feb. 27 to March 3. Learn more about the event here.
Kenya McCullum is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.