The field of horticulture is playing an increasingly vital role in conserving our environment and developing sustainable solutions to land management, landscape and garden design, and resource and water scarcity.
Gain the practical experience and knowledge for careers in:
- horticultural consultancy
- garden and landscape design
- arboricultural consultant
- irrigation installer
- maintenance gardener
Develop specialist knowledge and skills in specialist areas such as:
- garden design and landscaping
- revegetation
- tree health assessment and management
- retail nursery management
- irrigation
- soils and plant nutrition
- turf management
- plant identification
- plant propagation, nutrition and health
A major drawcard of NMIT’s horticultural courses is our purpose-built horticulture facilities at the Fairfield campus, which include:
- specialist propagation facilities
- state-of-the-art greenhouse
- plant tissue culture laboratory
- computer laboratory
- soils laboratory
- a well-resourced library
- extensive gardens for practical work
- a fully operational plant nursery and cafe
As well as Fairfield, Horticulture courses are also offered at the Greensborough campus, which is easily accessible via the Metropolitan Ring Road. This modern campus offers full and part-time diploma, certificate III and certificate IV as well as certificate II pre-apprenticeship and VET in school courses.
The Greensborough facilities include:
- a design landscape studio
- purpose-built horticulture and landscape workshops
- soils laboratory
- computer-aided design (CAD) laboratory
- a well-resourced library
- extensive gardens for practical work
NMIT students have had a long association with the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show - each year, NMIT wins many of the major competitions for garden design and achievable gardens.
Success stories:
Available Courses (20)
Prepare CAD Landscape Designs (Training Program)
Designing your future in landscaping. Gain additional skills towards your career in horticulture and landscape design - NMIT’s training course in preparing Computer Aided Design in landscaping will instruct you in professional design methods.
Commercial Hydroponic Crop Production (Training Program)
Take on the challenge for your future. Combine your interest in the future of crop production and horticulture - be a part of the growing sustainable industry that is Commercial Hydroponic Crop Production. Become a part of this ever-growing industry who will be supply much of the world food needs in the near future, start now to enter this expanding industry and be involved with much of the developments that are being made.
Plant Tissue Culture (Training Program)
Take your horticultural knowledge a step further. Study plant tissue culture to enhance your current knowledge on plant formation, assist in the continued existence of vital species of plant life and increase your understanding of the structure of plants for personal or career enhancement.
Prepare a Landscape Design (Training Program)
Bring your own creations to life. Update your home garden or prepare a landscape design to enhance your career by learning professional design methods.
Certificate IV in Landscape Design
Designing your landscape future. Working in the landscape industry, want to advance your skills to more design focused areas and develop your knowledge in business management. This course is designed to develop or enhance your skills to create the designs that will make sure that you will win that next job, and future jobs due to the professional standard of your plans. The public is always after a clear and easily understandable plan to make a decision about their landscaping needs.
Certificate III in Arboriculture
Branching out your career options - combine your love of the outdoors with your passion for conserving nature with a fascinating career as an arborist. The course is designed to train students in the must up to date techniques required for this trade, using highly specialised equipment that needs to meet industry and legislative rules.
Diploma of Arboriculture
Branching out your career options - combine your love of the outdoors with your passion for conserving the natural environment, in particular trees and shrubs, with a fascinating and unique career as an arborist. Be a part of the plant preservation industry that are called upon to assess and repair damage to trees.
Certificate III in Horticulture
Growing your own future. Own your own nursery or work in the outdoors - combine your passion for nature and understanding of your environment with a career as a horticulturalist. This course in a general horticulture course which can allow students the benefit of being able to adapt to a number of different career directions, or will enhance your plant skills to lead to additional studies.
Certificate IV in Horticulture
Growing your future prospects. Your interest in working with nature, understanding your environment and the science behind how plants grow will set you on the path to a flourishing career in the horticulture. industry.
Diploma of Horticulture
Growing your future. Own your own nursery, grow plants for clients or the general market or work as a consultant to the horticulture industry - you have the potential to be a leader with your skills and knowledge in this ever-changing industry.
Certificate III in Landscape Construction
Apprenticeship
Landscaping your future. Take your career to the great outdoors by creating beautiful serine spaces of gardening bliss, why not be the next well known landscaper in Australia by building your career in the landscaping industry learning the most up to date skills.
Certificate III in Landscape Construction
Non-apprenticeship
Construct and grow your future. Take your career to the great outdoors by creating beautiful serine spaces of gardening bliss, why not be the next well known landscaper in Australia by building your career in the landscaping industry learning the most up to date skills.
Certificate II in Landscaping
Designed as a pre-apprenticeship training program, the Certificate II is suitable for anyone who wants to gain the basic skills and knowledge to assist with finding employment in the industry and/or before moving into a horticultural landscape apprenticeship. The six month course incorporates a work experience component that give students real workplace experience in the landscape industry.
Diploma of Ornamental Horticulture
Expand and grow in your industry - your knowledge of ‘plantmanship’ through study, practical use and community engagement will see you succeed in the Diploma of Ornamental Horticulture. This course has been designed to allow industry to seek appropriate people with specialist skills in the horticulture field. You will be able to advise people of plants that can be grown in certain areas, situations and climates, and suggest plants that can be used in place of a particular plant, that will give the same effect or appearance.
Certificate III in Parks and Gardens
Boost your career in Parks and Gardens - nurture your interest in nature with a focus on the community to excel in a career as a parks and gardens expert. NMIT’s Certificate III in parks and gardens will develop your skills in planning, design and development of public parks for the general community, in organisations such as local councils, large private parks and public landscape’s, you will learn a variety of skills to help you understand soils, plants, pruning, environment and pests.
Certificate III in Pest Management
A unique industry for unique skills - become an expert of the Pest Management Industry. Understand the best practice methods of pest control, management and prevention relevant to the horticulture industry. Pest control is an industry that luckily for you isn’t going away any time soon!
Certificate III in Production Nursery
Growing your career pathways - spend your days in the great outdoors and be responsible for the cultivation, preparation, and nutritional requirements of plants in a wholesale environment in this thriving and energetic trade. Be a leader in the active development of new and improved ways to cultivate plants by the many propagation techniques available to you. Learn about the PBR requirements associated with plant propagation.
Certificate III in Retail Nursery
Apprenticeship and Non-apprenticeship Streams
Growing your own future - own your garden nursery, work in the great outdoors and help people create their dream garden with your career in the retail nursery industry. Develop the skills required to help people with any plant selections or problems, assist the public with information about plant placement and care and advise on any plants that could become an environmental problem in some areas.
Certificate III in Sports Turf Management
Your specialist career starts here. Use your eye for excellence in the world of sports and your interest in horticulture and facilities management to excel in your career as a Sports Turf Management specialist. Become the next renowned sports turf manager of some of the biggest and best sporting grounds around the country, be the person that will be managing single or multi use grounds to accommodate the needs of professional athletes into the future. Maybe the MCG could be your next back yard.
Diploma of Sports Turf Management
Grow your career with NMIT - be an expert at a racetrack, cricket pitch or bowling green. Use your eye for excellence in the world of sports and your interest in horticulture and facilities management to excel in your career as a Sports Turf Management specialist.
Available Short Courses (1)
Chainsaw Operation and Safety
In untrained hands a chainsaw can be an ineffective tool, not to mention extremely dangerous. Appropriate and safe use of a chainsaw is a specialist skill requiring specialist training. This one-day course will teach you the basics of operation, safety and maintenance. Completion of the nationally recognised unit RTC2304A Operate and Maintain Chainsaws will earn you credit towards attaining the Certificate II in Horticulture.
