New free Horticulture Careers Internship Search Tool connects students to practical job experience

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — On Jan. 30, Seed Your Future announced the launch of its new free online Horticulture Careers Internship Search Tool to help students find internships across the broad diversity of the horticulture profession. This is the newest resource from Seed Your Future, a coalition of more than 200 partners — including horticulture companies, gardening organizations, schools, colleges, universities, public gardens, youth organizations, nonprofit organizations and individual advocates — united in their mission to promote horticulture and careers working with plants.

To help find solutions to this workforce gap, in 2019, Seed Your Future hosted a summit to explore nationwide strategies. Representatives from certification and training programs, colleges, universities and the industry joined together to develop strategies to create and execute solutions to this critical employment issue. Chaired by John Dole, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University and Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, the summit explored both promising practices and resource gaps.

“I’m so impressed with the responsiveness of Seed Your Future,” said Charlie Hall, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University and co-chair of the Seed Your Future Advisory Council. “Educators and industry representatives made recommendations about what the movement could do to help connect more students with hands-on horticulture career experiences, and a nationwide internship search resource was at the top of the list. We asked for it and they delivered. I think this will be a great resource for educators, students and the industry.”

The online tool, SeedYourFuture.org/internships is unique in both its inclusion of internships across the art, science, technology and business of plant careers; and in the three ways for site visitors to search for their future internship — by job category, by employer and by state. “Students need to know what is  available for internships, this new website shows the breadth of choices in horticulture. I cannot imagine a student who would not be impressed with all the choices,” said Mary Hockenberry Meyer.

The Horticulture Careers Internship Search Tool is just the first of the new resources Seed Your Future plans to launch in 2020 as a direct result of the summit. “Internships are the number one experience that employers look for on a resume. The Seed Your Future Horticulture Careers Internship Search Tool is a great way to find the internship that will help students get the career they want,” said John Dole. “Future resources include a scholarship search tool, a recruitment toolkit for horticulture and green industry training and education programs, and industry promotional materials to open peoples’ eyes to the remarkable power of plants and the rewards of careers in the green-collar industry.”