WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association (ONLA) recently announced the release of the new training manuals to be used with the Ohio Certified Nursery Technician (OCNT) Program. This program assists in helping green industry employees improve and master their skills in three specialized areas: garden center, grower andlLandscape. The two books most recently updated were the Landscape Training Manual and the Core Training Manual.

Landscape contractors are relied on to provide horticultural advice as well as landscape construction techniques. With help from the Landscape Training Manual, contractors will be educated in areas such as plant identification, plant usage, plant health, soils, turfgrass management, use of pesticides, construction techniques, design, sales and more.

The Core Training Manual brings a fresh new idea to training in the Green Industry. Professionalism, safety and first aid are examples of topics covered in the core book. The new Landscape and Core manuals include a written textbook and corresponding lectures/presentations provided on a self-guided CD.

“These manuals represent several years of hard work from our Certification Committee,” said Kevin Thompson, Executive Director at ONLA. “This offers a learning experience that gives training through visual, auditory and written curriculum.”

Next in line to be revised and updated are the Grower and Garden Training Manuals. These are expected to be released in the next couple years.

For more information on the Ohio Certified Training Program or to purchase copies of the training manuals, contact ONLA at (614) 899-1195.