I would firstly like to say a big congratulations to Leicester City for winning this year’s FA Cup at Wembley.  

I really enjoyed watching the coverage of the match on the BBC, a great result for Leicester who are without doubt a special club to play for and belong to. Seeing those jubilant scenes when the owner came onto the pitch summed up the closeness of the club. This has been borne out with several conversations I have had with John Ledwidge, the club’s grounds manager who speaks very highly of the support received in what they do as a grounds team. I also enjoyed seeing the BBC interview Karl Standley, Wembley’s grounds manager on primetime TV. A great advert for our industry and what we all do. 

A rewarding industry
 
I have said on more than one occasion, our wonderful turf grass and amenity sector is a very unique and rewarding industry to be working in. The scope and variety of work is wide-ranging and the opportunity to work anywhere in the world is astounding. Once you have acquired the basic fundamental skills of horticulture and groundsmanship, there is no end to the opportunities that are on offer within this ever changing global industry.

Just taking sports turf alone, look at all the different sports you could be working within - football, tennis, rugby, bowls, cricket, golf, horseracing, croquet and polo to name a few.

The vast skills sets you will acquire while working in any one of these sports sectors should set you up for life. I passionately believe it is important to have worked on the tools and used the vast array of machinery and resources on hand to give you the understanding of our industry.

Today’s modern turf professional needs to be a jack of all trades, encompassing many skills, with the ability to use all available aides and technologies to deliver the expectations of the demanding clients and owners. In essence they need to be a plant pathologist, mechanic, chemist, mathematician, IT literate, good communicator flexible and have good people skills.

You only have to attend one of our two annual trade industry shows, BTME or Saltex, to realise the extent and magnitude of this industry and what it can offer in terms of career prospects.

With hundreds of exhibitors promoting their wares and services, both of the shows clearly indicate the scope and opportunities we have available.
The range and type of career opportunities are endless, both home and abroad. There is a real diversity of job roles across all our major sports. We must also consider all the support, supplier, product and service jobs that serve our industry.

Recruitment difficulties

However, having said all that, last week I spoke to a few prominent professional grounds managers and head greenkeepers who all said they are struggling to recruit new staff. They are just not finding the quality of candidate they need for the positions they need to fill. For example, trying to find a first assistant greenkeeper is proving to be extremely difficult for some. Likewise, a number of other premier venues are also finding it hard to attract youngsters into the industry mainly due the fact they are expected to work weekends and evenings to accommodate matchdays, fixtures and club competitions.

These expectations have always been in our industry and many of us see it as part of the job and happy to do these hours to fulfil our career prospects. Not anymore though it seems. Many of the younger generation want and expect a lot more.

Today’s generation, known as Generation Z, those born after Millennials, includes individuals who were born between 1996 and 2004. Some say the generation actually extends to those born before 2012. This age group now populates the newest cohort of college students and young professionals who will shape the future of both higher education and the workforce, based on their experiences and how those experiences have shaped them.

At the same time, members of Generation Z should be aware of some weaknesses they might possess. For example, since they are such high achievers and crave opportunity, many members of Generation Z have high expectations for upward mobility in their careers that their employers might not be able to fulfil.

It is in my view, that these high expectations and the different work ethics, perhaps don’t bode well with attracting these young people into our industry. 

Conditions must improve

Both pay and working conditions need to be vastly improved if we really want to attract any new blood. For far too long the pay scales in our industry are way too low and often many companies expect weekend work and overtime to be paid in lieu.

We all know that really doesn’t work. I know of many grounds professionals who work many long hours and rarely ever get their time back. One such greenkeeper I spoke to recently, is owed more than 300 hours! When on earth is he going to find the time to get that back?

As mentioned many times before, our industry does post recommended pay scales. Both the GMA and BIGGA have done so for many years. However, very few grounds professionals rarely get anywhere near their recommended scales of pay.

Low pay is one of the principal reasons why we cannot attract new blood into our industry. A white van driver can easily earn in excess of £24,000 whereas most, if not all, qualified ground professionals are earning considerably less. Smewhere between £18,000-£22,000 if they are lucky.

Also we are still, after all these years, still tarnished with the title of being merely grass cutters. A tag we are finding it hard to relinquish. We all know that this is not the case, but if there are two major challenges we need to address, these are the principle ones we must change in order to improve the standing of our industry.

I personally would like to invite a number of leading industry personalities to come and discuss these issues and find a collective way to improve our industry reputation on pay and conditions. I understand that there have been many organisations trying (BIGGA, GMA, Amenity Forum, Parks Management Forum. Perennial, RHS, APSE, BAGMA, R&A) to name a few. But as usual it is still a fragmented way of working.

A coming together of all these institutions, hopefully finding a national agreement on how we can improve and promote our industry, will be a key driver to ensure our future. 

Attempting to do things in isolation will never work. Our industry has been fragmented for far too many years. It is time for change. 

We should not rest on our laurels though. It is important we continue to inspire and recruit a new generation of grounds professionals to come and work in our industry - and more importantly, that they can learn from their peers.

We also need to ask ourselves, are our colleges and universities teaching the relevant skills and knowledge base to enable these newcomers to do the job that they have been employed for?

And crucially, paying a decent wage that is in line with other professional tradesmen.

Reesink UK has launched a new division dedicated solely to electric utility vehicles.

Named Reesink e-Vehicles, it introduces to the UK Star EV and its range of lithium and sealed battery-powered utility vehicles. The range features 28 units, including golf buggies and small, medium and large capacity electric UTVs for carrying materials, and people carriers for 4–22 people.

David Cole, managing director of Reesink UK, said, "We’re focused on introducing battery-powered machinery options to the UK turfcare market. Such products have been extremely well-received and this is the direction of travel for environmentally friendly technology at the moment, one we recognise will only gain more traction.

"The globe is focussed on reducing fuel consumption and heading towards electric transportation as the next transitional step. There simply has to be the choice to buy electric and we identified a gap in our offering for a comprehensive range of electric utility vehicles to complement the Toro Workman GTXe we have just rolled out here in the UK.”

David explained why the company chose to partner with Star EV, who they first encountered at BTME 2020. He said, "We were looking for an electric range with rapid charge, a good mileage per charge, an extensive warranty - up to six years on batteries - along with the usual no more emissions and no more pollution stance. It’s no surprise that Star EV is an award-winning company in the USA and we’re excited to partner with them.”
 
Jane Zhang, CEO and owner of Star EV Corporation, added, “Star EV Corporation is delighted to be partnering with Reesink, under their new EV division, with an exclusive agreement for the UK and Ireland.

"Star looks forward to Reesink delivering to its customer base a fantastic range of ever evolving, and world-renowned electrical vehicles, growing both our brands.”

John Deere and training provider ProVQ have announced plans to open a brand new Apprentice Training Centre this autumn, at a farm site in Upper Saxondale near Bingham in Nottinghamshire.

This will mark the 30th anniversary of the company’s first Ag Tech apprentice intake, who were enrolled at original partner Brooksby Melton College in 1992.

Pictured at the site of the new Apprentice Training Centre are (rear, left to right) Stuart Jones and James Haslam of ProVQ, Allan Cochran of John Deere and (front left & right) third year Turf Tech apprentice Sean Richardson of dealer Tuckwells at Ardleigh with John Deere work experience placement student Harriet Stephenson.

Designed specifically and solely for John Deere dealer apprentices attending the company’s Ag Tech, Turf Tech and Parts Tech training programmes, the first John Deere Apprentice Training Centre was established at Radcliffe-on-Trent five years ago. According to the company, these premises have now been outgrown, due to the programmes’ success and increasing dealer demand.

The Ag,Turf and Parts Tech apprenticeships focus on developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for dealer personnel of the future, say Deere. Each year group trains at the centre for up to eight weeks a year in four blocks of two weeks. Some of this time is also spent at the manufacturer's Langar HQ when working with the largest equipment and the latest technologies.

John Deere appointed ProVQ Limited in summer 2015 as its new business partner to deliver the apprentice training programmes on behalf of its dealers in the UK & Ireland. The current full-time ProVQ staff will continue to be managed by James Haslam at the new Apprentice Training Centre from the autumn.

“We are really looking forward to establishing this new bespoke facility close to our UK headquarters at Langar,” said John Deere Limited training centre manager Allan Cochran. “Our joint investment in the expanded Apprentice Training Centre will be in the region of £1.5 million. This will allow us to continue our growth and ambition to attract more young talent to develop successful careers in land-based engineering through the John Deere agricultural, turf and forestry dealer network.

“As our dealership businesses continue to grow, there is increasing demand for qualified technicians equipped with the correct knowledge and skills to support that growth. We have therefore recognised the need to increase the capacity of our already successful and industry leading training programmes even further.

“The new site will feature a purpose-built two-storey unit in addition to refurbished and extended farm buildings, effectively almost doubling our available square footage. The premises will include a bigger workshop space as well as larger classroom and cafeteria facilities.

“Most importantly, this will give us the capability to double our throughput of trained technicians to meet dealer demand. ProVQ will maintain its current staffing levels and continue to provide the full suite of apprentice technician training programmes at the new premises.”

An impression of the new centre

ProVQ managing director Stuart Jones added, “We are looking forward to seeing many more young people come through the doors of our new training centre at the start of what is undoubtedly a very exciting and rewarding career in engineering and parts support. The facilities we are developing will help them to achieve their full potential in a rapidly changing industry that offers a great opportunity to work with some of the most advanced technologies supporting food production, land management and environmental sustainability.”

Described by FIFA as ‘the greenest football club in the world’, Forest Green Rovers' grounds manager, Nigel Harvey, has praised the improvements in both operation and finish achieved with the club’s new duo of 34” Infinicut FL’s compared to their previous petrol-driven units.    

Forest Green Rovers' grounds manager, Nigel Harvey with club apprentice Matt Berry

 
Nine months into his role, and with the assistance of club apprentice Matt Berry, Nigel says his transition from the Forest Green training ground to the stadium was a swift and steep learning curve. “I had only used petrol mowers previously and because of the speed of the handover, when I took over at The New Lawn Ground, I stuck to what I knew. That was until Oliver Hall from Infinicut came in and did some training with me on the pair of floating head units and I just could not believe how good they were.

“It’s not just the fact they’re battery powered, which obviously means they’re quiet to operate and aren’t kicking out noxious fumes, but it’s the quality of cut too which is just outstanding. Within the time it took me to mow half the pitch I could tell the definition of stripe and cleanliness of cut was far superior to what we had been using. With fewer conventional tools and techniques at my disposal to tackle issues such as disease control, the balance and adjustability of the Infinicut delivers the perfect cut - with no shredding or bruising - to maintain plant health.”   

Along with the two FL 34’s, Nigel has also got a range of TMSystem cassettes as his disposal including the SarelRoller and ThatchMaster, which will be of particular use in preparing the surface for next season. The club say they are also looking at adding further battery powered equipment to their fleet, with the aim of significantly reducing petrol usage at the stadium. 

Husqvarna has gained seven awards in this year’s expert reviews by PriceRunner, including Best Choice for four of its products.

A spokesperson for the manufacturer said, "Tests were carried out over several months to judge how well the machines performed over a long period of time, carrying out demanding challenges in various types of weather conditions, to ensure accurate results.
 
"All products were intensely tested and scored on factors including; performance, reliability, ease of use, build quality, functionality, effectiveness, battery life and charging, and then subsequently judged on how well they performed in comparison to other products available on the market today."

The awards picked up for the company were:

• Best Choice Robotic Lawn Mower 2021 - Automower® 310
• Best Choice Leaf Blower 2021 - 525BX
• Best Choice Strimmer 2021 - 115iL Strimmer
• Best Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021 - Rider 214TC
• Best Premium Choice Robotic Lawn Mower - Automower® 430X
• Best Premium Choice Ride-On Lawn Mower 2021 - R 216T AWD
• Best Budget Choice Pressure Washer 2021 - PW 235 

Blount, Inc. have rebranded as Oregon Tool.

The manufacturer of professional cutting tools and equipment say they have selected Oregon Tool as its new name to "..harness the power of its pioneering origin story."

The company was founded by Joe Cox in 1947 in the basement of his Portland, Oregon home. Over the years, the company has grown into a multinational organisation with numerous acquisitions and mergers. Today, the company employs over 3,000 and sells products in more than 110 countries across multiple consumer brands, among them Oregon, Woods and ICS Diamond Tools.

“We are certainly proud of where we’ve been and where we are, but we’re even more excited about where we’re going as Oregon Tool,” said Oregon Tool CEO Paul Tonnesen. He went on to say that the company intends to go beyond serving the professional end user to expand how they are serving the domestic market.

The shift from Blount, Inc. to Oregon Tool will be effective June 2. Tonnesen said that the brands and products that customers have come to know will remain the same - they will simply operate under the umbrella of Oregon Tool instead of Blount, Inc.

With a wide range of over 30 products to choose from for all applications and total flexibility in the workplace, the Cramer Commercial 82V cordless system is the perfect choice.

Why 82V?

When looking at the best solution for commercial cordless products, 82V offers the perfect balance of power, torque, weight, cost, and durability. Lower voltage systems need to increase the current to get anywhere near the power output of an 82V system. By doing so, increasing heat and wasting energy, and having a detrimental effect on battery life. With higher voltage platforms (those over 82v) there is the disadvantage of additional weight, larger batteries, and increased cost. Having extensively analysed the performance capabilities of lithium ion batteries, Cramer created the 82V Commercial platform as the optimum solution for demanding commercial applications.

Power & Performance

The Cramer 82V range has been designed specifically for the professional user as a replacement to petrol products. Our 82V platform now offers the power of petrol equivalents thanks to ultra-high torque motors and direct drive, but with all the benefits of cordless such as low noise for use in any setting, low vibration allowing all day use, low running costs, reduced maintenance costs, and total flexibility with a single power pack for the range.

Wide Choice

A major factor when investing in cordless tools is the depth of range. A large portion of the investment is on the power pack (battery) so the choice of products available for that power pack is crucial. The Cramer 82V range has one of the most comprehensive ranges on the market with everything from brush cutters, twin bladed lawnmowers, and chainsaws, to powered sweepers, utility carts, and telescopic pruners. Whatever the task, Cramer has the commercial product to suit, ensuring your investment in Cramer is future proof.

Durability

Being a specialist commercial product, durability is essential. The Cramer 82V cordless range is manufactured using the highest quality materials including magnesium components and commercial grade high torque motors for the highest performance and a long working life. 

"82V offers the best solution for the commercial user, the added voltage compared to other lower voltage systems on the market offers more power and torque, cooler running temperatures, and greater durability. With a large portfolio of products and various powering options by on-board battery, belt mounted battery, or backpack battery, Cramer will suit any user in any situation, as well as having one of the lowest costs per Watt hour on the market," said Alan Wilson, Handy Distributions Cramer Specialist, UK distributor for Cramer.

For more information on the Cramer commercial or to discuss a demonstration of the range, call us now on 01793 333220 or visit www.cramertools.com

SPORT IN CRISIS

DRYING OUT . .

RETURNING TO FULL SPEED

ROBOTS ON THE RISE

A GAME CHANGER FOR PARKS

WORKING PRACTICES CHANGED?

OPENING UP

ROADMAP TO NORMALITY

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

BEAST FROM THE EAST RETURNS

PLAYING OUR PART

WISHES GRANTED?

TIME TO REFLECT

SELLING OUR SECTOR

SPRING WITHIN OUR SIGHTS

LOOKING AHEAD INTO 2021

A FLOOD OF WATERLOGGING ADVICE

View all of 2020's blogs here

View all of 2019's blogs here

View all of 2018's blogs here

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
Tullamore Golf Club

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGES
At Trinity College Dublin

BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW
Bray Golf Club

A WELL POLISHED COURSE!
Ierne Social And Sports Club

IDENTIFYING THE TRUE VALUES
Of grounds maintenance

THE INDUSTRY WILL CHANGE & ADAPT
But it will survive

WIRRAL GOLF COURSES SAVED
Renewed hope and optimism for the future

GREEN SPACE CONTRIBUTION TO WELLBEING IS UNDERVALUED
Parks invisible on national agenda

A SHINING LIGHT IN IRELAND'S SUNNY SOUTHEAST
Wexford Golf Club

GREEN SPACES DO NOT LOOK AFTER THEMSELVES!
Keith Kent says we must invest in people

WE SHOULD TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THE UK INDUSTRY
Right time for all sides to come together

SOIL LIFE IS PRECIOUS
Good-quality soil can help save the planet

MORE THAN JUST CUTTING GRASS
Encouraging the next generation

A BUZZ FROM DOING THE JOB
Wide experience of the turf grass industry

PAYING THEIR WAY
Low wages is the bane of the industry

AMENITY MANAGEMENT IMPACTS US ALL
Professor John Moverley

CARING FOR PARKS OF ALL TYPES
Mary Worrall

TOP FIVE FRUSTRATIONS FOR CRICKET GROUNDSMEN
What causes you the most frustration in your role?

PROFESSIONALS AT THE CUTTING EDGE
Vic Demain and Phil Sharples

BOWLS CLUBS IN PERIL
A sad decline

A VERY SPECIAL INDUSTRY
Loz looks back

SNEAK PEAK AT A ROBOTIC "GAME CHANGER"
Commercial model capable of covering 50,000 m2 teased

HALESOWEN PICK A BIG ROBOT UP FRONT
Invest in mowers

COMPRESSED AERATION
The new way

PARKS MATTER MORE THAN EVER
Recent sector developments

ON TEST
STIHL blowers

THREE CORE VALUES TO SHAPE OUR INDUSTRY
Real concerns for the future

ENGLAND'S GREEN SPACE GAP
A split along racial lines

ON TEST
EGO STX3800 strimmer with RTX2300 Rotocut head

A SECTOR FACING IMPORTANT TIMES
Review of the National Action Plan

PARKS MATTER
The role of public parks in the recovery: a discussion paper

A UNIQUE SPORTING VENUE
Wormsley private estate

A BTME OUTDOORS?
A good bet for the industry

PARKS NEED APPROPRIATE POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
Q&A with Philippa Reece, Parks and Foreshore Manager at Adur and Worthing Council

CRICKET LOAM
What does it mean?

A HERCULEAN EFFORT TO GET PARKS BACK TO NORMAL
Q&A with Chris Worman, Rugby Borough Council’s parks and ground manager

ON TEST
STIHL battery products

TURFGRASS STRESS MANAGEMENT
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and antioxidants during biotic and abiotic stress in turfgrass plants

AUTUMN DISEASE MANAGEMENT
The coming months are going to prove very difficult

THE ABUSE OF PARKS . .
Is the abuse of society

WHY PARKS MATTER?
A statement from the Parks Management Forum to the Prime Minister

THE 21st CENTURY PARKS MANAGER
Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial

EAT, SLEEP, CUT, REPEAT!
Cricket under covid

TIME FOR A SINGLE SHOW?
Debate brought back into focus

A CHALLENGING TWO MONTHS
Running golf design projects from home

PRESSURE SITUATION
Cementing the reputation

A CLUB TO BE PROUD OF
10 years at the helm of Olton GC

GAME CHANGERS IN TURFCARE
The day the Lord's outfield reconstruction proved its worth

THE ESSENCE OF ESSENTIAL
Finding a sensible way forward on defining "essential maintenance"

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
2001

HOW TO LOOK AFTER A GOLF COURSE WITH NO GOLFERS
Fundamental to the survival of almost all courses, if not of the game itself

RAIN STOPPED PLAY WOULD BE WELCOME
. . along with ‘lunch is being taken early’

PHYSICAL CONTROL OF TURFGRASS PESTS
An urgent problem

A DIVERSE & ENTERTAINING WEEK
Successful BTME 2020

INTEGRATED PEST CONTROL
Opportunity to embrace new methods

ENVILLE ON THE UP
Major investments taking place

GREEN FLAG AWARDS 2019
A great success

U.S PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT SHOW EXCELS
Buoyant GIE+EXPO

LEGACY OF THE SOLHEIM CUP
At Gleneagles

A DAY OUT WITH THE LADIES
Behind the scenes at the Solheim Cup

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY'S EDIBLE GARDEN SUCCESS
2006 - present

HAIL THE GRASS MASTERS!
Boorish media comments about pitch quality are wide of the mark

CONTRACTOR SEES MULTI-DISCIPLINE SUCCESS
360 Ground Care serving professional facilities

BUSY TIMES
Judging the Green Flag Awards

TAKING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
What does it all mean in managing turf surfaces?

UNDER PRESSURE
Dry weather conditions continue to keep turf managers focused on moisture management

EDDIE SEAWARD
Death of Wimbledon’s influential grounds manager

MAJOR NEW IRRIGATION PROJECT
At Top 100 classic Berkhamsted Golf Club

NEW HORIZONS FOR THE HATTERS
Investment paying off at Kenilworth Road

ELIZABETHAN RESTORATION
At Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

WHAT IS BIOPHILIA?
The vital impact of parks and green spaces on health and well-being

WORM CONTROL
Without carbendazim

THE TRUE COST OF PETROL
Battery-powered outdoor power tools are now turning the heads of professionals

SANDS OF TIME
Sand-based pitches are now the norm in professional sports

WHY DO WE DO THE RIGHT THING?
We must maintain industry standards

CHASING GRASS PERFECTION?
11 things you need to know . . .

MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Q&A with BASIS ceo, Stephen Jacobs

STRI RESEARCH DAY 2018
Hosted at research trial grounds in Bingley

THE MECHANIC
Leicester City FC invest in new role

LORD'S 'GRASS-GUVNOR' TO RETIRE
Mick Hunt bows out after 49 years

HOLLOW CORING & DEEP SCARIFICATION
Is it really necessary?

For those of us who have chosen a career in the amenity horticulture / sports turf industry, we face a lifetime of learning, largely due to the widespread, ever-changing, skill sets we require - along with the raft of machinery and equipment we must understand and utilise to help us do our job efficiently.   

I have said for many years we are a jack of all trades and a master of them all. I, like so many other trade professionals, have learnt and acquired many skills over the years. When I started in the industry some 45 years ago, I was fortunate to attend a five-year City & Guilds apprenticeship scheme. That meant I attended college one day a week and spent the rest of the week learning on the job, with support and advice from many of my peers. Since then, I have been able to attend many training and competence courses to keep up to date with legislation and best practice. 

So, it goes without saying, continued training, education and upskilling are essential parts of our ongoing career paths. I myself took up the opportunity to undertake a Masters degree at Cranfield University at the age of 47 to help further my career. We never stop learning. 

However, I must say our industry has changed enormously in the last 40 plus years in respect of expectations, career development and methods of working, along with the vast array of technical tools, products and specialist machinery that is available to the modern professional.

The sheer scale, diversity and range of job opportunities is staggering - greenkeeper, groundsman, gardener, arborist, florist, propagator, nursery manager, parks manager, landscaper, contractor, mechanic, sales representative, to name a few. Today we have several training and education providers who continually provide an ever-increasing range of courses.

One such training provider, Lantra, currently offers over 350 specialist courses and qualifications - in our industry alone they provide well over 120 grounds related courses. With over forty years’ experience, the company has become the principal awarding body for our industry.

There are many excellent training providers and qualified instructors and assessors who currently provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise. They help us gain the relevant qualifications and courses required to comply with legislation and become better practitioners.

One such training provider, Ian Sumpter of Mow-Sure Training Ltd, has been involved in the turf care industry since the early 1980s. He works in different roles ranging from amenity horticulture, sports turf management through to training. Since 2002, Ian has had a Key Service Manager & Training Manager role working for one of the leading machinery manufacturers. He is an accomplished trainer who understands the turfcare industry.

Below, Ian sums up the issues he has faced as a training provider during the Covid pandemic and how as a business, he had to adapt and change to survive. 

Training Through a Pandemic – Ian Sumpter

We all know and appreciate how tough the past year has been on us physically, mentally and emotionally. These emotions extend into our working life and for some businesses it has made this the toughest year yet. 

My business, Mow-Sure training, has seen work completely cease in some areas, with exponential growth in others. This fluctuation in our business has challenged me to look at our delivery methods and adapt to meet the changing needs of our customers. 

Having a business that is 50% UK customers and 50% international customers means we are already adept at dealing with customers that are not face to face. This has helped due to the fact that we already have presentations that quickly adapt to online Zoom training. 

Having Lantra rise to similar challenges of remote learning over the past year, and in particular developing the ability to deliver some qualifications online, has been a great help to our business. This was recently put to the test when I delivered nine two hour Zoom seminars on Groundcare machinery maintenance over three days for the British and International Golf Greenkeepers association (BIGGA), at their international conference and training event. For these seminars I was able to take the Lantra groundcare machinery maintenance course presentations and adapt them to meet the two hour Zoom requirements. Although the candidates did not gain a Lantra certificate, it has resulted in further interest to complete the full certificated modules. 

The challenge for us as a training provider has been knowing when online training is the best option, or when face to face training is still required. The other challenge, particularly in ever changing restrictions, is how to deliver face to face training safely.

Before the recent lockdown I was approached by a sports club that was in a position to purchase new equipment. Recognising his obligation under the Provisional Use of Work Equipment Regulation (PUWER), the groundsman was keen to gain a better understanding of how to maintain the new machinery. Fully aware that the Health & Safety Executive recommend and encourage this type of training to continue, I forwarded details of the Lantra Award in Groundcare Machinery Maintenance to the club. To ensure this could be delivered safely, we carried out the five-day course on a 1:1 ratio with both students and trainer wearing masks, observing social distancing and sanitising work areas regularly. 

I appreciate it’s not always cost effective to deliver training 1:1, but in this unprecedented time we feel it’s a balance between the business cutting back and the customer accepting a slight increase in the normal charge. Of course, it’s still possible to manage the normal groups of four for courses such as pesticide application or safe use of machinery which can be delivered outside observing guidelines. 

As we see the road map announced by the prime minister of how we come out of this current lockdown, but not necessarily the pandemic, what will the ‘new normal’ look like? As a business we have embraced online learning as an option for our customers. One training course in particular that has been invaluable to us throughout the year is the Lantra online Machinery Health & Safety Course.

This course gives customers the opportunity to meet basic machinery health & safety training and can be done at a time and place that suits them. We have now included this Lantra award into our own certificated Greenkeeper Health & Safety course, giving it a balanced and blended training approach. Therefore, we can see the current remote delivery options with Lantra becoming part of a blended training approach for our business, giving our customers a more varied approach to how they want their training delivered. One example of this is the Lantra Groundcare machinery maintenance courses, which can be delivered in part via Zoom with open mike and tutor candidate interaction. This will then mean we can have the practical sessions condensed, resulting in less 1:1 interaction. We are not out of the woods yet regarding the pandemic, but coming out of lockdown and being flexible with our future training delivery can see business resuming to near ‘normal’.

Adding depth and breadth

I also caught up with Martin Sampson, another Lantra instructor and former grounds manager who I have known for many years, who confirmed how they have been working through the pandemic.

Martin’s company, Sampson Training, took over the Grounds Training business last summer. After the busiest start to the season in years, he says organisations across the country have been catching up with postponed training and planning for the needs of their staff over the coming year. 

“With stringent risk assessments in place, we continued to train small groups throughout the pandemic, but with some staff on furlough, other organisations opted to put theirs on hold,” explained Martin. “Everyone has been keen to get back to face-to-face training. From volunteers to company directors, the feedback we’ve received is that there is no substitute for interaction with experienced instructors. Being able to get hands-on with machinery and equipment in a workplace environment is also critical for learners at all levels.”

He also says that an increasingly diverse portfolio of courses, tailored to each clients’ needs, is giving managers the opportunity to think beyond health & safety and competency, adding depth and breadth to the knowledge and specialisms within their team. 

“Ecology courses, basic tree survey and inspection, pesticides refreshers, synthetic surface maintenance and machinery maintenance courses have all become increasingly popular for grounds, greenkeeping, estates and local authority teams,” he adds. 

Martin used last year’s lockdown time to further his own professional development, becoming a Lantra End Point Assessor for greenkeeping and sports turf, and more recently a Technical Verifier.

Grounds Training also expanded its range of open courses. “The majority of our training takes place at clients’ sites,” he explains, “but we’re committed to giving individuals access to training too, whether they’re volunteers, self-employed people, or newcomers looking to secure their first role in the industry.  In addition to our monthly PA1/PA6A courses, we added PA2 (boom sprayer), sports line marking, bowling green maintenance, basic tree survey and inspection, and lawn care. 

“We’ve also added new training venues in South Wales, the Midlands, Dorset and Cornwall.”