When it comes to landscape industry careers in Southwest Montana, there are a lot of options. This is a region where people truly value the outdoors and they want their outdoor spaces to be as beautiful as possible.
While there are a lot of different jobs in landscaping that are available, that doesn’t mean that every company is a good fit.
If you truly want to make a career out of this work, you need to find the right landscaping career pathways, from a company that is going to let you climb the career ladder and build a future. After all, chances are, you don’t want to be stuck at the starting point at which you entered your landscaping career forever.
While you might have heard some of the “horror stories” out there from those who found landscaping to be dead-end work and ultimately had to move around from company to company, that’s not how it has to be.
With the right landscaping career opportunities, you can truly build a successful career.
Of course, not all companies are the same when it comes to landscaping career opportunities. There are some companies in which you might get “stuck in a rut” or feel like you aren’t being given an opportunity to grow.
While we cannot speak to every company (landscape industry opportunities
are really going to vary from company to company) we can tell you about what Blanchford Landscape offers. We are a company that wants to help you climb the career ladder if that is something you are interested in doing.
learn more about career opportunities in this video
Landscaping Career Pathways at Blanchford
Most of the time, when people come to Blanchford Landscape Group in search of landscaping career opportunities in Southwest Montana, they start off on a crew.
Blanchford Landscape Group has two primary landscaping career pathways: Garden Services or Design/Build.
We have crews for both main divisions as well as career opportunities that work their way up from there. Let’s look individually at each of these pathways, knowing that some people do start in one division and decide to change. Ultimately, Blanchford Landscape Group is truly committed to helping every individual find the right career opportunity for them.
1. Garden Services Landscaping Career Pathways
A lot of times, people who come to Blanchford to work in maintenance (Garden Services) get started on a crew. If you are coming with a higher skill set or from another job, you might spend less time on the crew before working your way up, but we do find that starting off in the field and seeing the way in which the work is done is incredibly helpful for everyone.
Let’s look at the career path for Garden Services, along with the required skills.
Crew Member
- Reliability
- Hard worker
- Desire to learn
- Follows direction
- Respects others
Some of the work skills that we look for in a Blanchford Landscape Group Garden Services crew member include:
- Basic hand tools
- Small power tools
- Truck driving
Crew Member II
- Trustworthy
- Show initiative
- Strong communicator
- Ability to lead
- Solves problems
- Detail-oriented
- Organize tasks
Some of the work skills that we look for in a Blanchford Landscape Group Garden Services crew member include:
- Loads/unloads trailer and materials
- Plant/Weed identification
Crew Leader and Crew Leader II
Stepping up into a Crew Leader role and eventually, a second-tier crew leader role means having all of the skills previously discussed as well as these additional ones.
- Leads others
- Teaches others
- Strong communicator
- Organizes materials and jobs
- Evaluate issues
- Works Efficiently
Garden Manager
From a Crew Leader role, you can move into a GardenManager role. This role requires all of the previous skills, plus the following:
- Manages and evaluates crews
- Collaborates with crew leaders
- Monitors job hours and performance
- Communicates with clients and account managers
- Ensures safety on-site
Work Skills
- Develops future managers
- Foresees problems and opportunities
- Solves problems
Garden Manager II
You can also have the opportunity to move from a Field Project Manager to a second-tier Field Project Manager. You’ll need all of the skills that you’ve developed up until this point plus the following:
- Ability to manage multiple crews
Work Skills
- Operating irrigation controllers
- Maintaining daily job records
2. Design/Build Landscaping Career Pathways
As far as different jobs in landscaping, the other main area for Blanchford Landscape is our Design/Build team. These are the individuals involved in bringing outdoor living spaces to life.
Let’s look at the career path for Design/Build, along with the required skills.
Crew Member
- Reliable
- Hard worker
- Desires learning
- Follows directions
- Helps others
Work Skills
- Drives trucks
- Uses hand tools
Crew Member II
Just like our Garden Services division, a Design/Build crew member has the opportunity to be promoted to a second-tier crew member. That comes with a need for some additional work skills.
- Dump truck and large equipment operation
- Proficiency with hand tools and power tools
- Trailer loading and operation
- Basic irrigation skills
Crew Leader
The next step up would be a crew leader. Let’s look at some of the skills needed to be a crew leader.
- Leads others
- Teaches others
- Strong communicator
- Organizes materials on jobs
- Solves problems
- Evaluates issues
- Ensures safety on site
- Ensures time and materials are tracked for the day
Work Skills
- Hand and small power tool proficiency
- Skid steer use
- Dingo use and loading
- Planting: B&B and container
- Familiar with the project budget and scope
- Edging: welded and stake
- Bed prep and finish
- Site finish
Crew Leader II
This step up from the crew leader involves some extra skills.
- Assists with scheduling and updates
- Assists with materials acquisition and subcontractors
- Interprets plans
Field Project Manager
A step up from the crew leader position is into a Field Project Manager role. Again, this comes with a need for additional skills.
- Manages and evaluates crews
- Develops future crew leaders and managers
- Collaborates with crew leaders, operations, and sales and design
- Monitors job hours and performance
- Communicates with relevant parties
- Foresees problems and opportunities
Work Skills
- Advanced irrigation skills
- Reviews time and materials and ensures accuracy/assists with billing
- Delivers project on time and on budget
Field Project Manager II
A second-tier Field Project Manager would need the above skills as well as the following.
- Ability to manage multiple crews
- Maintaining daily job records
Finding a Company with the Best Landscaping Career Pathways
If you are someone who is interested in climbing the career ladder and is looking for a landscaping career that can offer growth, then it’s important you find a company that truly cares about offering you these opportunities.
At Blanchford Landscape Group, we care that our team has opportunities for advancement within the company. We want to be able to provide them with a roadmap for success so that they can actually see how they can continue to move up. We know that people don’t want to get stuck in the same role forever.
On that same token, as we said early on, we also find that some people find that they are cut out for something different. We have had people start in Design/Build and move into Garden Services and vice versa. We are committed to finding the role that is right for you so that you can feel fulfilled and happy in your daily work.
At the end of the day, we want you to find something that you love and a role in which you feel successful.
If you’re a good fit for Blanchford Landscape Group and we’re a good fit for you, we want you to succeed.
We are always looking for good people who want the opportunity to build a career with us. As we grow comes continued opportunities to add to our team.
If you’re looking for landscaping jobs near Bozeman and Big Sky, MT, and you’re interested in Blanchford Landscape Group, we invite you to connect with us and start a conversation.
