It is currently an exceptionally busy time for turf professionals who will be preparing and repairing playing surfaces. 

With the football and rugby seasons finished, many clubs will be undertaking their end of season renovations.  With favourable, relatively high air and soil temperatures, plus plenty of moisture in the ground, germination rates should be quick and successful.

End of season renovations at professional clubs is now an efficient process using the latest wealth of machinery and products. The Koro fraise mower for example, has revolutionised the speed and accuracy of cleaning off unwanted vegetation leaving a clean surface to reseed. A complete rugby or football pitch can be renovated in a few days and be back to a playing within 10 weeks.

With the cricket season now started, this recent spell of wet weather will have meant plenty of hard work for the ground staff, needing to protect pitches with covers and sheets. 

Golf greenkeepers are also busy, constantly keeping up with the daily mowing regimes and ensuring the greens are fit for play seven days of the week. Many clubs are now starting their summer tournament competitions and expect their courses to be at their best. 

Total disregard

On the subject of turf professionals at top level facilities, having watched the play-off match between Leeds and Southampton at Wembley recently, I was disgusted to see the reaction of so-called experts during the after-match analysis, undermining the work of the grounds staff at Wembley. 

For me, that was a total disregard for our profession. Without these dedicated turf professionals we would not have these amazing playing surfaces for these multi-million-paid players and managers to earn their living. Is it not about time professional ground staff were treated with increased respect? I put it down to pure ignorance of what skills, effort and time it takes to prepare and repair top-flight playing facilities.  

As an industry, we need to do more to raise the profile of our grounds practitioners. I would like to see during prime sporting events, the head groundsman invited on to the TV coverage to speak as a part of the pre-match build up. It would give viewers and the pundits an insight into the work being carried out by the grounds teams to get this match on. 

I am sure it would make interesting viewing, to get across the complexities that are involved in producing the playing surfaces for major sporting events. Also, it would raise the profile of these unsung heroes who, for many, are still regarded as second class citizens  who simply cut the grass.

Also, I believe it could help to encourage more people to come and work in our industry. 

Recruitment crisis

We are currently experiencing a recruitment crisis within our industry and the only way this can be addressed is by having a national campaign that reaches into schools, This then  must be followed by a clear training pathway (academy / apprenticeship) scheme for those who are interested.

This is something I have been talking about for a few years now and have written several articles on.

The problem is of course, is that we are a fragmented industry with many organisations within it doing their own thing. W e have the likes of the GMA, BIGGA, Landscape Institute, Fields in Trust, Perennial, RHS, BAGMA, Green Flag,  Parks Management Association, along with major manufacturers trying to address and provide pathways for people to come into the industry and be trained. However, it is not anywhere near enough. 

I have said on numerous occasions it is about time that all these above organisations, as well as others finally come together for the greater good to deliver a proper opportunity to entice the next generation to come and work in our diverse industry. 

For me, the opportunity is there for the taking, During all the recent election news I hear that Rishi Sunak is promoting a national apprenticeship scheme, aiming to get a million young people to take up an apprenticeship. That must mean there is a pot of money somewhere available for funding such a scheme?

So why cannot we, the grounds industry, come together and effectively deliver a national scheme that suits the needs to address our dire recruitment issue?

Working with local colleges we could easily develop a working programme that fits our brief and I feel we could nationally attract 5,000 apprentices per year to join the programme for the next five years. Thus, effectively bringing twenty-five thousand new people into the industry. 

However, this is only ever going to happen if we can get the CEOs and industry leaders to come together and make it happen. I have spoken to many leading lights of our sector and they all agree with this potential scheme. We just need something to happen and not for all parties to remain isolated, caught up in their own strategies.

I would certainly be interested to hear any readers views on this. Please leave a comment below or contact me directly at Laurence@turfpro.co.uk