Horticulture: Nursery Technician Certificate of Accomplishment
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill, CA
- Cost
- $1,096
- Length
- 16 weeks
- Working 6 months later
- Not reported
Program names, program descriptions and occupation titles appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Everything else on this page is translated.
What happened to people who took this
No outcomes reported for this program
About a third of California programs report nothing. That is a fact about the program's reporting, not evidence that it works or does not.
The jobs this trains for
This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.
Shrinking -2.1%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
Trains for more than one job. The outlook shown is the weakest of them.
No regional figures for this program's city
Pleasant Hill is not one of the metropolitan or rural areas California names when it publishes wages and openings. A neighbouring area's figures would look exactly like a correct answer, so none are shown and the statewide figures stand alone. About half of California's programs are in this position.
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
Job ads may call this: Gardener · Greenskeeper · Groundskeeper · Grounds Person
Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.
- Gather and remove litter.
- Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.
- Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
- Water lawns, trees, or plants, using portable sprinkler systems, hoses, or watering cans.
Show 2 more things this job involves
- Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
- Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.
- Typical pay in California
- $46,714per year
- Projected openings
- 182,080
- Projected change
- +5.8%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- Under a month
No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.
These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.
What people in this job actually studied
- No high school diploma
- 35%
- High school diploma
- 35%
- Started college, no degree
- 15%
- Two-year degree
- 5%
- Four-year degree
- 7%
- Master's degree
- 1%
- Doctorate or professional degree
- 0.4%
This counts people already doing this job, across the whole United States. Every other figure on this page is California's, and the federal government publishes no state version of this one. It is what people happen to have, not a rule about who gets hired. A small row does not mean you would be turned away, and a large one is not a promise of a job.
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Pay, hiring, and what people studied
Job ads may call this: Lawn Specialist · Lawn Technician · Spray Applicator · Spray Technician
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
- Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
Show 4 more things this job involves
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
- Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.
- Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.
- Typical pay in California
- $46,212per year
- Projected openings
- 3,870
- Projected change
- +3.6%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- 1 to 12 months
What people in this job actually studied
Most common: High school diploma — 33% of the people doing this work.
California says this job usually needs: High school diploma or equivalent. 21% of the people doing it went less far than that.
- No high school diploma
- 21%
- High school diploma
- 33%
- Started college, no degree
- 21%
- Two-year degree
- 9%
- Four-year degree
- 15%
- Master's degree
- 0.9%
- Doctorate or professional degree
- 0%
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
Pay, hiring, and what people studied
Job ads may call this: Farmer · Grower · Picker · Gardener
- Sell and deliver plants and flowers to customers.
- Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
- Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
- Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
Show 2 more things this job involves
- Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
- Regulate greenhouse conditions, and indoor and outdoor irrigation systems.
- Typical pay in California
- $36,544per year
- Projected openings
- 373,450
- Projected change
- -2.1%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- Under a month
No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.
What people in this job actually studied
Most common: No high school diploma — 46% of the people doing this work.
- No high school diploma
- 46%
- High school diploma
- 29%
- Started college, no degree
- 11%
- Two-year degree
- 5%
- Four-year degree
- 8%
- Master's degree
- 1%
- Doctorate or professional degree
- 0.5%
Program details
This program provides in-person instruction only.
This certificate of accomplishment program provides the fundamental skills required for entry level employment in the nursery industry. It includes classroom and hands-on laboratory experience. The program prepares individuals to operate and manage outdoor plant farms, tree and shrub nurseries, and related facilities that develop domesticated plant products for propagation, harvesting, and transplantation. Includes instruction in applicable principles of plant science nursery operations, equipment operation and maintenance, and safety procedures.
Someone else may be able to pay for this
This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-08-04). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.
The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California
A comprehensive center is where all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. California's Employment Development Department directs people to CareerOneStop's finder to locate one. Contacting a center before traveling is worth it — the state notes that its own staff are not physically present at every location.
The rule: 20 CFR 678.305 — What is a comprehensive one-stop center? · 20 CFR 678.310 — What is an affiliated site? · California EDD — Office Locator
Concord America`s Job Center of California / East Bay WorksComprehensive center
Phone: 925-671-4500
4071 Port Chicago HighwaySuite 250Concord, CA 94520about 5.1 miles away
Hours: M-F 8:30 am-5:00 pm
Has a veterans' representative
East Oakland Neighborhood Career CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 510-568-8349
7200 Bancroft AvenueSuite 140Oakland, CA 94605about 13.9 miles away
Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Unity Council Career & Resource CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 510-535-6101
1900 Fruitvale AvenueOakland, CA 94601about 14.2 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.
Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List
How this gets paid for, and what to ask →
Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.
The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.
How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →