Range of qualifications

You can study for highly practical work-based qualifications that show what you can do, through to more academic qualifications that show what you know. For an overview on qualifications generally (but not degrees), the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority site is useful for those in England, Wales and N Ireland (we couldn't find anything as useful for Scotland). Here you can find out more about levels and optional modules, giving you a good idea of what you could be learning about.

National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQ/SVQ) are run by various organisations, including City and Guilds, and Vocationally Related Qualifications (VRQ) are run by the National Proficiency Testing Council, Edexcel and the Royal Horticultural Society.

Whatever the qualification, it has a level, with level 1 being a foundation course for complete beginners. The level quoted depends on where you study (England, Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland or Ireland) - the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework has a handy comparison in .pdf format.

Make sure your hard work goes towards a recognised qualification

If you've spotted a course leading to a qualification, but don't know if it's recognised, or you already have some qualifications, but you don't know where they fit in, search within the horticultural sector of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority site for all the accredited qualifications available in England and Wales.

On Scotland's equivalent site, we couldn't find much about horticulture.

Links in order of mention:

Qualification and Curriculum index

NVQ

City & Guilds qualifications

National Proficiency Testing Council

Edexcel BTEC National qualifications

Royal Horticultural Society examinations

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework - Equivalent qualifications across boundaries

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority sector search

Scottish Qualifications Authority