I, like most people in this country and around the world, have been thoroughly caught up in the mourning of our late monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. For me, she was a truly inspiring person who dedicated her life to our country. 

Also, as a keen photographer, I have been enthralled by the sheer number of images we have seen of the Queen during the last week. No doubt, she must have been one of the most photographed people on the planet.

With millions paying their respects, the sheer size and scale of the period of mourning and yesterday’s state funeral has been quite staggering. It just goes to show what can be achieved if we all pull in the same direction and have the will to work together. I am sure there have been years of planning to achieve this major, once in a lifetime event.

I feel I have never known such a turbulent period in my lifetime. Let’s hope that the new monarch, King Charles III’s new reign will signal a positive change in our fortunes. 

With Brexit, Covid and the war In Ukraine our resolve has certainly been tested in recent years. I am hoping that NATO and Europe keep supporting Ukraine to the point that Russia are defeated and we can then begin rebuilding our economies to bring some stability and growth back into our countries for the next generation.

Industry recruitment woes

On the theme of the next generation, it is about time our sportsturf and horticultural industries finally come together to find a way of enticing a new generation to come and work in this diverse and unique sector. 

This will only happen if a concerted effort is made by the coming together of several leading organisations, manufacturers and premier sporting governing bodies to finally deliver a national campaign to go into schools to inform on the wide range of opportunities and jobs we have on offer in this industry. 

However, we will also need to find a way of improving the working conditions and pay for many of the jobs we have on offer. For far too long these pay scales have been too low.

It is about time businesses began revaluing the work of grounds professionals, not thinking of them as merely grass cutters. For far too many years this has been a term we have been labelled with. 

Today’s professional groundsperson is a master of many trades. The skills and knowledge required to deliver a world class playing surface is unrelenting. A strong understanding of plant, soil and water relationships is required. Also essential is an analytic mind to solve the ever-changing scenarios faced on a day-to-day basis. A knowledge and awareness of the machinery, products and services available to do the job is vital. Also integral is the ability to be strong communicator and leader - and not forgetting the ability to understand how to work with the ever-changing weather fronts. 

The scope and workload can be endless and the challenges all-consuming when you take into consideration the many different types playing surfaces and environments that must be tended to on a given sports facility, park or public open space. 

Then job of any grounds professional is never a nine to five job. It requires many more hours of  commitment and dedication to deliver the expectations now required.

Having talked to many businesses, there is a severe problem in recruiting new staff. As confirmed by the GMA and BIGGA, this has been a problem for some time with many professional sports clubs struggling to find staff.

I believe this is principally down to pay and working conditions - however, we do still need to explain to the potential next generation the wide range of job opportunities that this industry offers.

I would like to see a national scheme delivered into schools that sees current top-end professionals go in and explain their roles and careers. I am sure there are thousands of students who are not remotely aware of the career opportunities this industry has to offer. 

As mentioned in other previous editions of TurfPro, we also need a national apprenticeship scheme to be set up to potentially cater for 1000-5000 apprentices to enter into our industry annually. Currently it is down to individual companies to deliver ad hock apprenticeship schemes. 

This would require a major input from leading companies, governing bodies and educational establishments. I truly believe this could be possible if we collaborated with one another to achieve this fantastic opportunity to bring a new generation into our unique and diverse sports turf and horticulture industry.