Information for secondary students and school leavers
How Nonna Sadchykova's career blossomed when she gave up legal studies
Nonna Sadchykova wasn't really sure what she wanted to do when she left school, so she followed a friend's suggestion to do a legal executive course.
But she continued with her part-time job with a flower grower – which turned out to be just as well. "The legal exec course didn’t really capture my interest. I thought, 'What’s the point of finishing it and spending more money on something I don't really want to do, and then going to an industry I don't want to be in?' "
"Why don't I enter this apprenticeship?"
- Nonna displays a hanger of orchids
Then Nonna's boss offered her an apprenticeship as a flower grower. "My grandma used to grow plants. She used to have a big garden and I was always there during summer. I thought, 'Why don’t I enter this apprenticeship?' "
Nonna's Year 13 subjects included biology and maths, and she's found that helpful during her apprenticeship. "Some of the things we are doing now I can remember doing at high school, and it makes more sense."
Nonna's found flower growing interesting and challenging. "It’s a pretty easy job picking flowers – but there’s a lot more to the work than that."
A future in the world of flowers
- Nonna mixing fertiliser
Nonna's already wondering about more training after her apprenticeship finishes. "I'm thinking about what other courses I can do at polytech or by correspondence to help me.
"I wouldn’t mind travelling to see what other things are out there; how people do things differently and experience the world and then come back and manage a flower-growing business, or I could have my own crop.
"Once a year in Asia they do a big orchid show. I wouldn’t mind going to one of those, to see the other varieties and how they do things."
However, that's a long way in the future. "So far it’s just a dream, I have to get qualified!"
Read more about what Nonna loves about being a flower grower
