Where are they now – Jesse Novotny
This month, 1300apprentice would like to introduce Jesse Novotny as a 2nd year Parks and Gardens apprentice through Eden Gardens.
Jesse commenced his career by completing a Certificate II Horticulture traineeship, which provided him with an understanding of what the apprenticeship involved without a four-year commitment.
We met with Jesse at Eden gardens to ask him about the Parks and Gardens Apprenticeship, why he chose this trade for his apprenticeship and to take a few photos of some of the gardens Jesse has built and currently maintains.
As we arrived, Jesse was busy doing some topiary which is one of his favourite aspects of the trade.
When asked why he chose to do this apprenticeship Jesse said “I first did a Cert II Horticulture traineeship with Eden gardens and I really enjoyed it. I received some really good feedback from my supervisor and from there I was offered the opportunity to complete a parks and gardens apprenticeship with them, which I jumped at. It’s an excellent opportunity for me to build a career from. I love watching the work unfold and seeing the gardens transform over time. My favourite part of the job would be topiary-making and see the different shapes I’m learning to trim the plants back to.”
Recently Jesse visited the Melbourne International Garden and Flower Show with his supervisor to have a look at some of the gardens for inspiration. This is the second year that Jesse has visited this event giving him the opportunity to learn from exhibitors and put his ideas into practice at Eden Gardens.
Jesse said that this is an excellent trade and a great alternative to a Landscaping apprenticeship. It’s not as physically demanding which is better for later on in his career and it offers plenty of room for progression.
When asked about the most challenging part of his apprenticeship Jesse said: “learning the botanical names of all the plants, it’s pretty hard”.
Whilst we were visiting Jesse, we asked Jesse’s supervisor Ben Lyte what benefit Eden Gardens has gained out of having Jesse on board. “Having Jesse as an apprentice is really useful because not only do we benefit from having an extra set of helping hands, but the enthusiasm and new knowledge that Jesse brings to the garden as he learns new things at TAFE really benefits our workplace”.
We’d like to wish Jesse the best of luck for his upcoming trip to Papua New Guinea where he’ll be walking the Kokoda trail, and we also look forward to seeing him develop through the rest of his apprenticeship.
