During a past Green Career Week, Miami-area high school students asked a Jet Fresh Flower Distributors employee about the industry’s sustainability efforts, the globalization of the industry, and specific floral holidays.
“It is amazing to see these students and how much they knew about horticulture,” says Mimi Pacheco, who visited the school as part of the national career awareness event. “It was very inspiring. They had so many questions.”
The discussion was beneficial for all involved. It not only spawned interest in floriculture among the students, but it also inspired marketing ideas for prom and Mother’s Day, Pacheco says.
Green Career Week, held twice annually, in the spring and fall, is now a must-do event for Pacheco. Created by Seed Your Future, the industry organization leading the charge to raise awareness about jobs in floriculture and horticulture, the event seeks to help the industry reach the next generation of horticulture professionals. The next Green Career Week is Sept. 30-Oct. 4.
Participating businesses and organizations use Seed Your Future’s ready-to-go resources to connect with local schools, colleges and universities to showcase various career paths either by visiting the schools or having the students visit their business. The toolkit includes letter templates for asking school administrators about a visit to the school, or a field trip to the business, along with suggested activities.
“It is so important that students know about the careers offered in horticulture and floriculture because we need to ease the labor challenge in our industries with smart, tech-savvy workers,” says Seed Your Future Executive Director Jazmin Albarran. “Our turn-key resources make it so easy for businesses to participate.”
Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI, says Green Career Week is vital to addressing the labor challenges facing the industry. During a previous Green Career Week, Drummond spent two hours with students at The U School in Philadelphia, a vocational school with a department that focuses on careers in agriculture, horticulture and food service. There, he talked about career options with high school juniors and seniors.
Pacheco previously spent time in a science class at Coral Springs High School in Miami, Florida, where the students showcased not only their scientific knowledge of flowers, but also the power flowers have to bring joy.
“We pulled out the flowers, and you see that flower feeling,” Pacheco says. “They were all sleepy — high school students aren’t going to be all smiley at 7:30 in the morning — but when they held the flowers, the smiles on their faces appeared.”
Pacheco also held a separate virtual event with students at Miami Dade Community College. The presentation focused on the many career opportunities in the horticulture and floriculture industries. The students were particularly interested in sales logistics and buying, she says.
This year Pacheco says she plans to reach out to more local schools and tap into even more classrooms. She’s particularly interested in speaking to middle school students, an audience she believes might have fun working with flowers and learning about the far-reach of the industry.
Albarran adds that, while the event has two designated weeks each year, businesses can use the resources to reach out to schools anytime throughout the year.
“The idea behind having a designated Green Career Week is to create high levels of participation, which helps maximize awareness of careers in our industry and possibly get media attention,” says Albarran. “But if that timeframe doesn’t work for your business or your local schools, you can simply pick a timeframe that does.”
Sarah Sampson is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
