jobfacts

Fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c.

SOC 2020 9119

Job holders in this unit group perform a variety of tasks in relation to the breeding and rearing of animals and fish, catch fish at sea and from inland waterways, assist in the picking and lifting of crops, plant and maintain hedges, oversee the incubation and hatching of eggs and perform other fishing and elementary agricultural tasks not elsewhere classified in minor group 911: Elementary agricultural occupations.

Also calledHorticultural workerHorticultural assistantGarden nursery assistantGarden centre workerNursery workerNursery assistantand 134 more titles
Typical full-time pay£26,7002025 Provisional
People in the job24,000across the UK
New adverts a month607↓ 35%on last year · 247th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. earn, 2025
£26,700 typical£21,100lowest 20%£22,50025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£21,100
25%£22,500
Median£26,700
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £26,700
West Midlands!£31,400
East Midlands!£30,900
South East!£26,600
Scotland!£25,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£21,200
North West!£20,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £26,700
West Midlands£31,400 (small sample)
East Midlands£30,900 (small sample)
South East£26,600 (small sample)
Scotland£25,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£21,200 (small sample)
North West£20,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,800
  • 2024 £25,700
  • 2025 Provisional£26,700
↑ 12% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 607 jobs for fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. are advertised each month.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026623
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026705
Apr 2026703
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026539
Jan 2026581
Dec 2025227
Nov 2025637
Oct 2025726
Sept 2025718
Aug 2025747
Jul 2025988
Jun 20251,158
May 20251,094
Apr 2025985
Mar 20251,024
Feb 20251,251
Jan 2025869
Dec 2024464
Nov 2024824
Oct 20241,066
Sept 20241,082
Aug 20241,073
Jul 20241,057
Jun 20241,052
May 20241,120
Apr 20241,101
Mar 2024843
Feb 2024842
Jan 2024864
Dec 2023510
Nov 2023622
Oct 2023675
Sept 2023591
Aug 2023963
Jul 2023757
Jun 20231,726
May 20231,885
Apr 20231,469
Mar 20231,552
Feb 20231,611
Jan 20231,302
Dec 20221,012
Nov 20221,268
Oct 20221,206
Sept 20221,053
Aug 20221,269
Jul 20221,292
Jun 20221,305
May 20221,526
Apr 20221,399
Mar 20221,484
Feb 20221,153
Jan 20221,331
Dec 20211,025
Nov 20211,172
Oct 20211,194
Sept 20211,504
Aug 20211,203
Jul 20211,292
Jun 20211,178
May 20211,140
Apr 2021844
Mar 20211,238
Feb 2021691
Jan 2021478
Dec 2020544
Nov 2020597
Oct 2020735
Sept 2020990
Aug 2020828
Jul 2020617
Jun 2020369
May 2020326
Apr 2020374
Mar 2020649
Feb 2020968
Jan 2020877
Dec 2019530
Nov 2019854
Oct 2019757
Sept 2019726
Aug 2019470
Jul 2019524
Jun 2019492
May 2019548
Apr 2019448
Mar 2019467
Feb 2019496
Jan 2019704
Dec 2018497
Nov 20181,030
Oct 20181,342
Sept 20181,476
Aug 20181,090
Jul 2018863
Jun 2018803
May 2018799
Apr 2018754
Mar 2018600
Feb 2018406
Jan 2018521
Dec 2017301
Nov 2017441
Oct 2017496
Sept 2017507
Aug 2017562
Jul 2017493
Jun 2017644
May 2017637
Apr 2017602
Mar 2017556
Feb 2017409
Jan 2017423
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
53%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary agricultural occupations, which includes fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c.. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London161
Crawley59
Manchester28
City of Edinburgh27
Sheffield24
Glasgow City24
Somerset23
North Yorkshire23
Leeds22
Liverpool21
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 38 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Philippines, Ghana, India, ranking it 154th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c.
30%!
24%!
n/p
n/p
24%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2430% (small sample)
25–3424% (small sample)
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–6424% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!8.2%
Higher education below degree!4.9%
A levels or equivalent!25%
GCSEs or equivalent!44%
Other qualifications!12%
No qualifications!14%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent8.2% (small sample)
Higher education below degree4.9% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent25% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent44% (small sample)
Other qualifications12% (small sample)
No qualifications14% (small sample)

Main employers: landscape service activities (13%), retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (7.8%), retail sale of flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, pet animals and pet food in specialised stores (6.4%), pre-primary education (6.1%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
8.2%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 44%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

Horticultural worker

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a college course, which may help you when looking for jobs.

Courses include:

  • Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture
  • Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You could start by doing an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Horticulture or Landscape Construction Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Horticulture or Landscaping Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These take between 2 and 3 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Volunteering

You might find it useful to get some practical experience by volunteering in horticulture or gardening, while looking for jobs.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for jobs if you have experience in gardening, horticulture or retail. Employers might ask for GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in maths, English and science.

You could then do a part-time horticultural course or get training on the job to develop your skills.

Other routes

You can take a course with The Royal Horticultural Society to learn more about horticulture or to help you get a job.

You could learn at a training centre or online depending on the course you choose.

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about careers in horticulture through The Royal Horticultural Society.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for horticultural worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Nursery worker

You can get into this job through:

College

You can take a college course before looking for work in a nursery.

Courses include:

  • childcare
  • early years education and care - early years educator
  • T Level in Education and Early Years
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an Early Years Practitioner Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, or an Early Years Educator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

These take between 1 and 2 years to complete and combine training on the job and time spent with a learning provider.

Find out more about early years apprenticeships.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You can work as a nursery assistant and learn on the job. You'll usually need GCSEs in maths and English to start. Your employer may offer you the opportunity to do formal training like an apprenticeship, as your skills develop.

Volunteering

You can get experience by volunteering at a local nursery group or after school club. This may lead into paid work, where you could do training on the job.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for jobs in a nursery if you've got experience of working with young children and a qualification in childcare.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You will need a paediatric first aid certificate to work in a nursery.

Further information

You can find out more about working in childcare from Early Years Careers and Coram PACEY.

You can contact Early Years Careers by phone or email to get answers to questions about starting a career in early years education.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for nursery worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • assists with the shooting, hauling and repairing of nets, prepares, lays and empties baited pots at intervals, operates winches and lifting gear, and guts, sorts and stows fish
  • harvests oysters, mussels, clams and seaweed off natural or artificial beds, nets river fish and maintains them in spawning pens, assists with feeding and water treatment, and empties and cleans outdoor tanks
  • cleans animals’ quarters and renews bedding as necessary
  • extracts semen for storage, selects appropriate semen from store, injects recipient animal and issues certificate giving pedigree and date of insemination
  • incubates eggs in hatchery and supplies chicks for meat and egg production and game birds for reserves
  • plants cuttings or shrubs, maintains hedges by clipping, pruning and re-planting, and picks fruit, vegetables, hops and flowers
  • performs other farming and related tasks not elsewhere classified including sorting and marking livestock, catching rabbits, cutting peat, shearing sheep and sexing chickens

Skills

  • collect dead fish
  • collect live fish
  • operate small craft
  • prepare for small craft operation
  • swim
  • assess cage water quality
  • carry out fish transportation
  • carry out preparations for fish disease specialist
  • carry out standard aquaculture stock health operations
  • collect aquatic resources
  • collect biological data
  • collect fish samples for diagnosis
  • collect growth rate information
  • handle fish harvesting waste

Knowledge

  • fish welfare regulations
  • rope manipulation
  • fish identification and classification
  • operation of transport equipment

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary trades and related occupations, a group of 8 jobs that includes fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c..
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 21%about 97,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 203556,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.