Landscape design: demand for courses and graduates booms

Demand for landscaping courses and graduates is booming, as Aussies lean on them to beautify their homes.

Demand for landscaping courses and graduates is blooming, as Aussies increasingly lean on them to beautify their homes and lifestyles, and workers chase a career tree change.

Online service platform hipages has had an increase in job requests of up to 50 per cent year-on-year for landscaping professionals since the start of 2021.

And increasing numbers of Aussies want to pursue the craft professionally.

Total TAFE enrolments are yet to be confirmed for this year and universities are traditionally reluctant to release admission numbers but anecdotal evidence and leading tertiary education figures confirm it’s a boom area.

Wendy Walls, lecturer at the University of Melbourne in landscape architectural design, considered one of the leading courses in the country, said interest had surged over the past year.

Girvan Tenggono, 23, from Carlton, is studying a Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Melbourne. Picture: Mark Stewart

“We are seeing a lot of people through COVID thinking about what they love and what they are passionate about; and we are seeing that reflected in students coming into landscape architecture,” she said.

“We are seeing older students and career changers, as well as people coming out of high school.

“When we were locked down, people really appreciated our public spaces — our parks, creeks, rivers — as it was those spaces people flocked to. There was a renewed focus on how important open space and parkland is, particularly in cities.

“There is always a huge amount of opportunities — it’s not an area where we have got more graduates than there are jobs.”

Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers Queensland director Eva Porter, of Porter Designs, said there had been a recent spike in activity across the industry.

“There has definitely been an increase in clientele looking for architecture design,” she said.

“In the industry, we call it the COVID boom.”

COVID has brought about a renewed emphasis on our backyards. Picture: adamrobinsondesign.com/Photos Sue Stubbs.

It has come about following renewed appreciation of backyards.

“Gardens have become a fashion statement lately,” Ms Porter said.

“People appreciate nature as a healing space as well. In Australia we haven’t had, medically, a huge number of COVID cases, but we have seen a pretty big mental impact.

“Because I have personally been swamped by work, I have had to choose which jobs I take on, and I’ve heard that’s the case for other people too, so there would be need for other people in the industry. It’s a growing industry.”

Climate change is a factor, too.

“Mining engineering used to be quite popular but now high school students don’t want to study that so much any more because they are learning about climate change,” Ms Porter said.

“So landscape architecture is a subject students want to take on.”

Home Decorate Gardening. Garden in Rozelle by landscape designer Adam Robinson of Adam Robinson Design, adamrobinsondesign.com. Photos Sue Stubbs.

Girvan Tenggono, 23, is studying a Master of Landscape Architecture at University of Melbourne, and is motivated by the desire to maintain and enhance green space in our cities.

“I grew up in the suburbs of Jakarta, Indonesia, and I can really see when urbanisation starts creeping in and all the wildlife and nature I grew up with when I was younger is starting to dwindle down,” he said.

“I want to make sure that doesn’t happen here, or anywhere else.

“During lockdown, people were starting to notice they actually need green space to just relax. People were finding spaces they didn’t visit before.

“There is a lot to learn (in a landscape architecture degree), but don’t be afraid to ask around, it’s OK to not know stuff. As long as you like what you’re doing, just keep on pushing. It’s for a great cause.”

Top landscaping requests in 2021

1. Maintenance

2. Decking

3. Patios

SOURCE: hipages.com.au

At Home magazine cover March 13, 2021.

Don’t miss the new look At Home magazine in your newspaper every Saturday, or visit us online At Home.