Want to land an apprenticeship with Corey Fox Landscaping - here's your cheat sheet

We reckon we’re a pretty nice bunch here at Corey Fox Landscaping. We love our clients, love our trade and love working together in our team. We also believe in delivering the best quality work with no shortcuts.

To maintain that culture, we’re always on the lookout for people who share our values and can gel well with the team. If you haven't decided yet on what trade apprenticeship to take on, you'll want to read our post on why we think landscaping is a better apprenticeship option than carpentry here. But if you've already decided on landscaping you've got a trial period coming up and you want to have it in the bag, you'll want to know our values and how to go about making a great first impression. Some of these may seem obvious but get these all right and you’ll go far. It’s your cheat sheet to impressing us:

1. Attitude is everything

   We can teach almost anyone the skills of this trade. What we can’t teach is a good attitude. The applicants who will stay with us are the ones who were cheerful, coachable, and genuinely keen to learn.

2. Self-motivation is key to being valued

   💫 Show initiative. Be useful. Notice a mess? Tidy it! See a problem?  Flag it and try to come up with a solution. Notice when someone needs something and do it without being asked.
   

   💫 Take responsibility to learn as much as you can. Ask us about why we're doing things the way we are. Be eager to learn and have a go yourself.
   

   💫 Be interested in gardens and landscaping! Follow other great landscapers on socials, be inspired and share ideas!

3. Showing respect will earn you respect

   💫 Start time says 7am? That means turn up at 6:50, ready to go.

   
   

   💫 Speak to your team mates, clients and managers with respect. Listen carefully and follow instructions with a positive, willing attitude.

   
   

   💫 Only use your phone in your break times.

   
   

   💫 Stuck in traffic? Feeling sick and can’t make it? Let us know, don’t just disappear.

   
   

   💫 When you're out and about in uniform or driving a company car, you represent the business. That means you act in a way that upholds our values.

   
   

   💫 Our worksite is our clients' home. We treat them and their home with courtesy:  we're polite, we keep the noise down where possible (no loud swearing), we take care not to damage their belongings, we treat their neighbours with respect, we clean up after ourselves and we look out for opportunities to be friendly and build rapport so we leave with a great reputation.

   
   

4. Use your noggin!

   
   

   💫Unsure how to do something? Don’t wait til it’s too late. Ask for help early!

   
   

   💫 On a job site, time is money. Projects needs to run efficiently to stick to budget. We need everyone in the team to plan ahead carefully and make responsible decisions so you're not wasting the team's time. That means making sure you have the right tools before driving to a job. Thinking about whether there's anything else you need when you do a trip to Bunnings so you don't need to go back.
   

   💫 Reduce risks - practice and test first. Mistakes are expensive! Managing budgets and getting the best quality result for clients means thinking and planning carefully. If you're using a product or tool for the first time, practice first. Grab a loose bit of stone or timber and do a test before working with the finished surface. If you're working around something valuable, go slow and practice first. The old adage 'measure twice, cut once!' really makes a difference. 💫 Being thoughtful keeps you - and the team - safe on the job. It means being alert to risks and communicating effectively to mitigate them. It might mean testing a product on a loose piece of stone before applying to pavers

   
   

Final Thoughts - how to turn your trial period into a landscaping apprenticeship

The way riding a bike takes a lot of concentration at first, before experience makes it second nature, a trade requires study, practice and careful, close concentration before the skills come naturally. Particularly with landscaping where there are so many different skills to master and an unlimited number of materials and plants to work with, you'll find you're actively learning throughout your whole career.

Mistakes are risky and expensive, so it's important to be on your A game while you're on the job.

If you approach every day with curiosity, humility and a genuine willingness to get stuck in, you'll find that the skills come quickly — and the opportunities follow. A trial period isn't just us assessing you; it's your chance to assess whether this is the career you want to build your life around. For the right person, there is nothing more satisfying than standing back at the end of a project and seeing something beautiful that you helped create. If that idea excites you, you're already halfway there. So come and show us what you've got!