When I worked in the Parks Department with Dublin County Council, I was responsible for several crews that were maintaining outdoor open spaces.
Each crew would operate different machines, ranging from tractor driven rotary or cylinder mowers to strimmers, hover mowers and pedestrian mowers. From time to time these mowers would break down, which meant that they would have to be brought to or collected by our local dealers for repairs.
These dealers were great at repairing our machines. There was one business, in particular, that I brought the smaller equipment to for repairs. It was a small shop that sold gardening tools, seeds and some mowers for the domestic trade. What made this shop special was that there were two employees who did nothing else only repair mowers or anything else that had an engine. They were two completely opposite characters but they worked very well as a team. There was nothing they didn’t know about when it came to engines.
When I brought equipment to them for repairs, they would have them fixed in no time and to a high standard. It was not until I moved on with my career and relocated to another part of the country, working as a head greenkeeper, that I appreciated how good these two characters were at their job. Finding good workshop technicians are hard to find and hold onto.
The equipment used on golf courses is very specialised and requires specific mechanical skills to carry out repairs and services to them. Simple operations such as grinding (and backlapping) cylinders for mowers, correctly setting reel to bedknife, mower diagnostics and so on.
Many golf courses in Ireland do not have the luxury of having their own mechanic. Some experienced greenkeepers “dabble” with fixing their machines. The vast majority of greenkeepers and groundspersons rely on the services of their local dealers to carry out major repairs.
However, from the dealer point of view, it can be difficult to hire a suitably trained and experienced mechanic. Finding a mechanic that knows all about repairing and maintaining groundcare equipment is even harder.
Getting experienced and qualified people to work in the workshop facility has been an ongoing challenge. Finding ways to attract suitable people into this sector is hard to do. In my March 6 editorial I mentioned about the government’s Generation Apprenticeship having an Agricultural Mechanics Level 6 programme that is available and attractive to both novice and employer. As good as it may be, it is aimed specifically at farm machinery.
Last week I read an article on the topic of labour shortages in the turf industry. The article, written in America, showed how the New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA) recently got approval for its Registered Apprenticeship Programme by the New York State Department of Labour.
This programme will offer an opportunity for golf courses, sports turf and turf businesses to develop their workforce while providing individuals a pathway to careers in the turf industry. There are two programmes, one for grounds staff and the other for equipment technicians. The equipment technician program will provide fundamental training in diagnostic, troubleshooting to equipment safety, repair, engine service, metalwork, and fabrication.
It would be great if a similar scheme, tailor made for the sportsturf industry, could be developed here in Ireland. Ideally this would need to be initiated by a national trade association. It would take a lot of time and research to develop and get it approved by the government. Perhaps some businesses in our sector could pool together and help with this by making funds available for the creation of a programme that is designed specifically to the sportsturf industry.
If this were to happen it would not only be beneficial to the turf manager but also for dealers. They would have specially trained staff to get those specific repairs done. A win-win situation for all.
