Gardener / Gardener EFZ

Together for quality of life

We are looking for you! Apply now for our apprenticeship as:

Gardener / Gardener EFZ

Apprenticeship

Workplace: Chur

Workload: 100% Apply online now

At the ARBES nursery in Chur, we train apprentices as gardeners in the field of plant production in the regular labor market. ARBES is the sheltered workshop of PDGR and offers protected jobs for people with mental disabilities in its nursery.

As a gardener in plant production, you ensure that color comes into gardens, living spaces, and habitats. Your tasks include sowing, propagation, and cultivation of ornamental plants for outdoors and indoors, as well as growing and harvesting vegetables. The work takes place in the greenhouse or outdoors. Sometimes, gardeners in plant production also plant and care for flower beds and containers.

During your apprenticeship, you will learn professional customer contact as well as how to interact and collaborate with employees with mental disabilities.

Our basic attitude in your training

• We strive for a learning climate characterized by mutual respect, tolerance, and openness.
• We provide you with space to take on your role as an apprentice gardener.
• We enable you to engage in various learning forms that promote individual, holistic, and self-directed learning.
• We have clear regulations; we define the scope of action together.
• You learn through practical work and reflection, using leadership and training tools systematically.
• We see learning in practice as a continuous and building process.
• Through differentiated, constructive, and reasoned feedback, we achieve learning successes together and promote your transfer thinking – from theory to practice.

Key points of your training

Your apprenticeship lasts 3 years and takes place over three learning fields:

• The school education in compulsory classes takes place on one school day per week. For this instruction, you will attend the Commercial Vocational School in Wetzikon.
• The inter-company courses (ÜK) support learning success by imparting basic and industry-specific skills.
• The practical vocational training takes place at the ARBES nursery in Chur.

We support you if you aim for vocational maturity (BM) during your apprenticeship. Please inform us of your interest in your application.

During your basic vocational training, you have five weeks of vacation per year.

Our requirements for you

• You enjoy working outdoors and in a team
• You have a robust physical condition and health
• You are interested in plants, biology, and the environment and have good observational skills
• You are mentally and physically agile
• You have a good eye for colors and shapes
• You are a curious personality and friendly in customer contact

Perspectives after your apprenticeship

After completing your apprenticeship, you will work as a gardener in plant production in the profession or complete a shortened basic training as a gardener in another specialty, as a florist, or in one of the basic trainings in the agricultural field, such as fruit specialist, vegetable gardener.

Another option is the federal professional examinations for senior gardener or tree care specialist.

The higher technical school offers you the opportunity for further education to become a certified technician HF or a certified technician HF in construction management with a focus on garden and landscape construction.

At the university of applied sciences, you can pursue a Bachelor of Science (FH) in environmental engineering and landscape architecture.

Selection process

After reviewing your application, you will be informed about the selection decision. If you are shortlisted, the training manager will arrange an interview and selection days. Through selection days, you will gain insight into everyday work, and we will get to know each other better. The selection days are organized by us and take place at the ARBES nursery in Chur.

The admission decision is made by at least two people, usually by the training manager and the head of ARBES.

Your advantages at a glance

We offer you a tailored vocational training. In the PDGR, we fundamentally train all vocational courses at the level of Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ).

Training for the Federal Vocational Certificate (EBA) is possible depending on the requirements and in certain professions after consultation with the education department.

We support you if you aim for vocational maturity (BM) during your apprenticeship. Please inform us of your interest in your application.

As a competitive athlete, we enable you, in consultation with the Office for Vocational Education and your sports association, to have special training conditions to create an ideal combination of vocational training and competitive sports. In the preliminary clarification, we carefully check whether your sport can be reconciled with your chosen vocational training and educational goals.

All our apprentices receive 5 weeks of vacation per year. If you work in the 43-hour week model, you even get 5 additional days (compensation days). These are worked off during the entire year within the framework of the 43-hour week.

On the introduction days in August, you will meet all new apprentices at the Beverin Clinic in Cazis. After a welcome by Josef Müller, CEO, you will receive initial insights into the PDGR and get job-specific information about your apprenticeship start. The day is rounded off with a joint aperitif, attended by your vocational trainer. Your parents and relatives are, of course, also invited.

The next two days, all new apprentices will spend together. We will work on various topics in workshops so that you are ready for the start of your apprenticeship.

Out of everyday life – the apprentice day is the annual highlight for our apprentices. Once a year, you meet with all apprentices for a joint activity. Gold panning in the Surselva, planting trees together with WWF in the Prättigau, or visiting the RhB workshops in Landquart are examples of past apprentice days.

The day promotes mutual exchange among apprentices from different professions and allows you to have a cross-professional experience.

In every profession, there are industry-standard apprentice wages. Would you like a little more? We value the contributions of our youngest employees and are happy to pay our apprentices a little more so that they can manage well with their first income. Additionally, there is a 13th month salary. There are also allowances for work on Sundays and evenings, for example, as a health specialist – of course, always within the framework of youth protection.

Tips for your budget planning can be found here.

We strive to provide apprentices in all areas and professions with a varied and well-supported training. As a company with over 1,200 employees, we utilize our diverse opportunities. This way, we can give our apprentices insights into various areas, and they can complete parts of their apprenticeship at different locations.

No matter which profession – you are part of the PDGR team and work with different employees and professions.

“Community” is one of our core values: Everyone contributes with their individuality and collaborates constructively with other professions – this is how we move forward. Your ideas and opinions are also welcome and encouraged.

Learn more about our values here.

Everyday work and collaboration

In your everyday work and in your private life, many exciting, new, unexpected, and challenging things happen – much of it for the first time. In the person of your vocational trainer, your supervisor, or your training manager, you always have a contact person. Talk about things that burden, overwhelm, or hinder you. Together, we will look for solutions and help you.

Are you not making progress alone or with your environment? Then sometimes a conversation with an external professional can help. For this, we have an independent counseling service available for employees – neutral, anonymous, and free of charge.

Learning and succeeding at the three learning locations

Are you facing difficulties in school, in ÜK, or during practical learning? We are happy to support our apprentices individually with their personal challenges during the apprenticeship. We promote attendance at support courses or other offerings from your vocational school.

Your training company

The PDGR and its values

“The open psychiatry – by leading experts for the people,” that is our vision. You are the expert – with your expertise, your skills, and above all, your personality, you enrich our interprofessional teams.

Our experts share their knowledge for the best possible quality. They are trustworthy, competent, and orient themselves to the latest findings. The PDGR stands as a lighthouse and is an important support for society.

Your contacts

Petra Regina Bernet

Head of Nursery

Petra Regina Bernet

Susanna Böhi

Specialist Supervisor

Susanna Böhi

Your application

Are you curious about new things, curious about an apprenticeship with the PDGR?

Then apply – we look forward to getting to know you!