Wilkinsons Landscaping

A Member of Parliament heard about a lack of horticultural educational opportunities when he visited northern England’s largest plant centre.

Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, visited Wilkinsons Landscapes plant centre to view its recent investment to create a café and hear about how the family venture has grown in the last four decades, from a one-man-band to a thriving business employing more than 40 people.

During his visit, Mr. Cunningham had the opportunity to gain insights into the company's operations, from its cutting-edge garden computer-aided design processes to its efforts in addressing critical labour challenges faced by the industry.

Simon Wilkinson, the second generation of his family to run the business near Teesside Airport, emphasised his struggle to find adequately skilled and engaged employees to support the busy landscaping business’s growing portfolio of customers. Simon, who studied horticulture at the now defunct Askham Bryan college in Guisborough, advocated for more structured and higher quality education for those in Tees Valley who are interested the sector.

Simon Wilkinson, managing director at Wilkinsons Landscapes, said: “I’m pleased Alex took the time to visit our plant centre and hear all about Wilkinsons Landscapes. The business has grown steadily over the years, and we now employ more than 20 people between the plant centre, central office and out undertaking landscaping on behalf of customers.

“When I started in this business as a teenager, there were many more good quality training opportunities and people were happy to get their hands dirty to learn the ropes. It’s a shame because horticulture is such a rewarding career and I wish more people would consider it. Seeing the results of your hard work literally bloom in front of your eyes is unbeatable in my opinion. Sadly, now there just aren’t the same opportunities for young people, or older people hoping for a career change, to get a proper education in the industry and gain qualifications.

“Alex was really interested to hear how he might be able to help encourage more people, especially older people who out of work or considering a part time job during retirement.”

Alex Cunningham, member of parliament for Stockton North said: “I was delighted to visit Wilkinson’s Plant and Garden Centre to meet Simon and see the work he has been doing to add to the visitor offer of the centre through the addition of a new cafe. Wilkinson’s is a long-established local family business and it’s great to see it continue to go from strength to strength, and create jobs for local people.

“Simon and I also had a good chat about the lack of horticultural training on offer locally, and staff and trainee recruitment and retention in the profession as a result. This is something I regularly hear about when speaking to local farmers, growers and the National Farmers Union and it’s clear to me that we need to see more done to boost training and education opportunities, with educators working with experts like Simon to promote horticulture as a viable career path.”

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF WILKINSONS LANDSCAPES

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MEDIA CONTACT: Joss Havakin on 01325 363 436

Notes to editors

Founded in 1981, Wilkinsons Landscapes is operated by Simon Wilkinson, the second generation of his family to run the business.

The Plant Centre is at the heart of Wilkinsons Landscapes and has several inspirational display gardens to view, walk around and enjoy, as well as the largest selection of plants in the North East of England

Located in Eaglescliffe, Stockton on Tees, the plant centre has a true focus on plants perfect for any garden, with a large selection of mature specimen trees, exotic garden plants and fabulous conifers for customers to view and purchase at the very best prices.

Wilkinsons Landscapes also operates a home garden design service covering every aspect of a garden, whether it’s a new area to relax in on those warm, sunny days or need some colourful flower beds to spruce up an outdoor space. Its team of experts are extremely experienced when it comes to design plans and landscaping.