Shire Jobs

This is a Temporary Position. Dates of employment are 03/15/24 to 11/15/24.

Workers must be able to perform all duties of entry level workers as well as perform additional mechanized activities with accuracy and efficiency.

Perform general maintenance of field grown plants. Performs any other duties involved in the maintenance of plant materials and nursery stock and maintenance of holding yards and shipping areas.

Manual tasks related to the growing of nursery stock will include some combination of the following:

• Plant, cultivate and maintains in condition for shipping and resale to customers, pot seedlings, prune, space, irrigates and culls plants to ensure availability of marketable products.
• Prepare fields for planting by clearing cull stock, brush and debris; propagate plants from cuttings; plant cuttings, seedlings or 'liners' by hand (including potting machine, riding and inserting liners in a mechanical planter); dig, load, unload or transplant bare-root nursery stock; straighten, tie, stake, prune and shear trees and shrubs (shearing conifers and evergreens must be performed with proper taper and angle of bud cut for quality); cut, pull, use string trimmer to remove and mow weeds or grass (weeds are to be removed by the root and not at ground level); assist with irrigation; spread topsoil and mulch.
• Transplant trees, shrubs and plants into containers; fill, lift and carry various size pots with soil and plants weighing as much as 60 pounds (plants must be handled carefully so that minimal leaves, limbs and roots are broken during transplanting process); water in nursery and seasonal holding houses and when potting; cover seasonal holding houses with plastic in fall using staple gun and nailing lathe; remove plastic from seasonal holding houses inspring assist with building seasonal holding houses; move irrigation equipment; spray herbicides and insecticides and apply fertilizer, hand hoe around nursery stock.
• Tasks related to harvest of nursery stock will include the following: taking inventory and grading plants, preparing trees and shrubs for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary; digging; wrapping burlap or other covering around root balls and securing with twine and/or nails; crimping wire baskets; lifting, carrying and loading nursery stock; and unloading, moving or loading supplies, including wire baskets, burlap and nails. Packing and preparing plants for storage and shipping.

Must have 3 months of verifiable equipment operating experience.

Lifting requirement: 50 pounds

Exposure to extremes in temperature

Extensive lifting and pulling

Extensive sitting or walking

Extensive stooping or bending

Repetitive movements.

Plants must be handled carefully to ensure that leaves, limbs and roots are not broken during digging, handling, wrapping, tying and/or transplanting processes.

To apply: click on "I want to apply" and email your resume/application to Jose Herrera Mariani at jherrerama@pa.gov. Be sure to reference the job order number on your resume/application. All resumes/applications are reviewed and only those that match the job specifications are forwarded to the employer for consideration.  If you do not have a resume, please make an appointment to visit the PA CareerLink & ask to complete an application. If not currently enrolled we encourage you to enroll on www.pacareerlink.pa.gov.