Meet Dean Zammit the City Corporation’s Horticulture Apprentice

Dean Zammit joined the City of London Corporation’s Apprenticeship programme as a level 2 Horticulture Apprentice. He was very keen to secure an apprenticeship where he could gain some qualifications at the same time as getting practical experience and hands on training.

Dean had previous gardening experience and had been employed in a range of jobs but had not achieved any formal qualifications in horticulture and had left school with no Maths or English qualifications.

Dean has a young family and a partner who also works shifts full time as a nurse. He was incredibly keen to better himself and saw this apprenticeship as a step in the right direction to doing so.

To enable him to go for this opportunity Dean’s partner took on night shifts and overtime, and knowing that he would also need functional skills in Maths and English, and extra study time, Dean worked to a tight schedule, using every but of spare time he had.

Dean quickly slotted into the City Gardens team, and was a key player, learning new skills on the job and forging relationships with colleagues. Dean enjoyed his role and grasped every opportunity given.

Following initial assessments, it was identified that Dean would need quite a high level of support with Maths and English, having not studied these subjects for more than 20 years. Dean gave 100 per cent to his functional skills work, and had impeccable attendance to all the planned sessions, even when it involved coming in on his day off. He also stayed after the sessions and spent most Friday afternoons doing extra study – long after his classmates had departed.

Working with the functional skills delivery team, Dean exceeded all expectations and completed all coursework and exams. His hard work and determination allowed him to achieve a Level 2 qualification in both Maths and English – even though the requirements of his course were only level 1 – he stretched himself and went for level 2 – knowing that it would benefit him in the future.

Dean is employed full time in City Gardens.