After 20 years at Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Len Smith has been appointed by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) as Regional Advisor for Wales. He will be responsible for developing training, education and membership in the area as well as forging strong links with governing bodies, colleges and local authorities.
His appointment – which is jointly funded by the IOG and ECB and is designed to give ongoing support to IOG regional members – complements the existing IOG’s Regional Adviser network that embraces Ireland and the North of England.
“Training and education is the foundation of the IOG,” comments Len, “and there’s a big market for it in Wales. I’m very excited about getting on with the role and delivering results in the area.”
After starting out as a greenkeeper at Radyr Golf Club, Len has also been responsible for grounds at Pennylan bowling and lawn tennis club, the Polytechnic of Wales (now the University of Glamorgan), Cardiff Athletic Club, Cardiff City and most recently at Glamorgan CCC.
His vast experience as a groundsman is backed up by a host of training and qualifications including the coveted IOG NDT.
Ian Lacy, Head of Professional Services at the IOG, is delighted to welcome Len to the team: “It’s rare to come across someone of Len’s experience and qualities, so we are very pleased that we can now count him as a key player in our regional network of advisors.
Len takes up his role on 2 February 2009.
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org
Source: Wildish Communications Ltd
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IOG PROMOTES 3.5 PER CENT SALARY INCREASE IN 2009 FOR GROUNDS PROFESSIONALS
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is recommending a 3.5 per cent increase in grounds staff’s national minimum salary bands for 2009, following annual industry-wide research carried out independently by PBi Consulting.
Commenting on the findings – which reveal that senior grounds management roles are beginning to be competitively rewarded in line with respective market rates – IOG Chief Executive Geoff Webb says:
“It is a major concern, however, that the average salary of entry- and mid-level jobs remains to be either below or at the lower end of the IOG’s recommended minimum. This highlights the need to continue to improve industry understanding and reward for these roles.”
He continues: “As confirmed by IOG research, we are facing a very real skills gap in the near future and continuing to pay below the recommended rates will only exacerbate this. The IOG will continue to work with employers, Government and sector skills councils to raise the profile and standing of the profession.
“The IOG is now embarking on a second-stage study designed to identify the relative standing of grounds staff within their organisations and the reasons for this perception. The ‘Grounds for Concern’ study will set out to, for example, understand the qualifications held by staff and their pay. We anticipate the results in the Spring.”
Explaining the methodology of the latest research, Steve Pheasant, PBi Consulting Director says: “Incomes Data Services analysis and other remuneration consultant reports have been utilised to confirm pay market trends in both the public and private sector. IDS records pay settlements across the UK economy covering approximately nine million employees in total. The divergence in pay settlement levels between the two sectors, first noticed in 2007, will continue in 2009.
“The IOG salary bands continue to primarily cross reference with the public sector National Joint Council Local Government pay shadow grades reviewed annually in April and the outcome of the internal salary survey by the Local Government Analysis and Research (LGAR), which this year for the first time gave us access to 4,311 records of local government grounds staff in the UK and Wales.
“Comparison with BIGGA salary scales – which for 2009 are announced at 3.7 per cent based on the Average Earnings Index at June 2008 - continue as a good comparator of salaries in the private sector.”
The IOG recommended 2009 national basic salary bands are:
To accompany its recommendations, the IOG publishes generic Position Descriptions to reflect typical job responsibilities and experience required for each level of position, against which employers can evaluate varying responsibilities and circumstances.
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org
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Commenting on the findings – which reveal that senior grounds management roles are beginning to be competitively rewarded in line with respective market rates – IOG Chief Executive Geoff Webb says:
“It is a major concern, however, that the average salary of entry- and mid-level jobs remains to be either below or at the lower end of the IOG’s recommended minimum. This highlights the need to continue to improve industry understanding and reward for these roles.”
He continues: “As confirmed by IOG research, we are facing a very real skills gap in the near future and continuing to pay below the recommended rates will only exacerbate this. The IOG will continue to work with employers, Government and sector skills councils to raise the profile and standing of the profession.
“The IOG is now embarking on a second-stage study designed to identify the relative standing of grounds staff within their organisations and the reasons for this perception. The ‘Grounds for Concern’ study will set out to, for example, understand the qualifications held by staff and their pay. We anticipate the results in the Spring.”
Explaining the methodology of the latest research, Steve Pheasant, PBi Consulting Director says: “Incomes Data Services analysis and other remuneration consultant reports have been utilised to confirm pay market trends in both the public and private sector. IDS records pay settlements across the UK economy covering approximately nine million employees in total. The divergence in pay settlement levels between the two sectors, first noticed in 2007, will continue in 2009.
“The IOG salary bands continue to primarily cross reference with the public sector National Joint Council Local Government pay shadow grades reviewed annually in April and the outcome of the internal salary survey by the Local Government Analysis and Research (LGAR), which this year for the first time gave us access to 4,311 records of local government grounds staff in the UK and Wales.
“Comparison with BIGGA salary scales – which for 2009 are announced at 3.7 per cent based on the Average Earnings Index at June 2008 - continue as a good comparator of salaries in the private sector.”
The IOG recommended 2009 national basic salary bands are:
- Grounds manager £28,100- £40,400
- Heads Groundsman £23,965-£31,170
- Deputy Head Groundsman/Lead Professional £19,610-£23,955
- Groundsman (Skilled) £18,335-£22,400
- Groundsman £14,690-£17,950
- Junior Groundsman (Age 17) £12,450
- Junior Groundsman (Age 16) £10,370
To accompany its recommendations, the IOG publishes generic Position Descriptions to reflect typical job responsibilities and experience required for each level of position, against which employers can evaluate varying responsibilities and circumstances.
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org
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Bahco Bypass Loppers PG-20-E - Product Review
I must admit that I have had this pair of loppers in question for review now for the best part of a year but it does take a while, I believe, with tools to test them properly. That I have now done.
Bypass loppers of compact design to prune in difficult-to-reach places, available in two sizes. Oval steel tube handles with comfortable plastic grip and shock absorbing plastic buffers for added comfort in use. The smaller cutting head is ideal for pruning ornamental shrubs and rose bushes. Unlike for the professional range of loppers there are no spare parts available for this one.
The PG-20-E bypass loppers which I have had for review is the smaller of the two sizes and has a cutting capacity of a maximum of 30mm. This is, in my view, all academic though and depends on the hardness of the wood. I would not like to try it or any for that matter on dead prunus branches of that diameter, for instance. I have done dead branches of up to about 20mm with those loppers and I found it hard going. Not that the loppers would have broken, maybe. I just found it physically hard and would, in such cases, rather resort to a saw.
Those bypass loppers could be, and I do that at times, for they are very light and handy to carry, referred to as “secateurs on steroids”.
The specifications, so to speak are for the PG-20-E that of a cutting diameter 30 max, with a length of 440mm and a weight 665 grams. As I have said, they are very light.
Now if someone could design a carrying holster for it, of some sort, this would be an ideal too for any Countryside Ranger and such like to take out on a patrol, especially a foot patrol, in order to remove branches and such that may encroach on a footpath, a bridleway, or such.
This is, as all of Bahco's tools, a professional tool at a reasonable price and anyone in their right mind, especially a professional, I should think, would rather invest in quality tools than to buy cheap and find them broken in a few hours or days of use.
© M Smith (Veshengro), January 2009
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INSTITUTE OF GROUNDSMANSHIP CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2009
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2009 as the world’s largest membership organisation for grounds professionals with nearly 10,000 full and e-members.
A number of events will take place through the year including the first all-encompassing industry awards ceremony for grounds staff taking place at the Emirates Stadium on 15 October. This will be preceded by the IOG’s one-day Sports Turf Conference during the day.
Over the last two years the institute has transformed itself with the establishment of the IOG Academy – an apprenticeship through to retirement training programme to enable grounds staff to gain the professional qualifications they need throughout their career.
“Having doubled the membership over the last two years we will continue to follow the institute’s original mission to improve the status of groundsmen and the standard of groundsmanship,” says Geoff Webb, IOG Chief Executive.
“To this end we have been working with the national governing bodies of sport such as The Football Association on a soon-to-be-launched training initiative for grassroots grounds professionals, and the England and Wales Cricket Board on fine turf issues,” he added.
There is still much to do. Grounds staff are still not paid well and work in difficult conditions. The IOG therefore needs to evolve to meet the demands faced by its members in this ever-changing industry.
The IOG has been highlighting its concerns with a number of key politicians and stakeholders, pointing to the vital contribution that grounds staff make to British sport. This has led to Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe MP saying:
“Ensuring the long term maintenance of facilities is vital to the sustainability of sports provision. Grounds maintenance is a key element of this. I welcome initiatives by the IOG to raise skill levels in this area and the grounds maintenance profession as a whole.”
The IOG was founded by W H Bowles BEM, head groundsman of Eton College, and ten other founder members in 1934 at a pub by Cannon Street Station in London. Each of the founders put in £1 to set up the organisation.
Some of the IOG’s highlights include:
“It is clear that health and the uptake of sporting activities is a major item on the Government agenda, as is the legacy that the Olympics (and other major sporting events including the Commonwealth Games in 2014) will create. As such, our activity within the political arena is focused here, to highlight the issues we face as an industry.
“This is one of a number of steps that the IOG is taking to voice concern and request action on matters that we as an industry are facing – for example, the encouragement of more young people into the sector, and to raise the pay and status of ground professionals.
“We will continue to lobby, with our partners who face similar issues, to address and raise the profile of these important issues with Government, those involved in sports governance and others in a position of influence.”
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org
Source: Wildish Communications Ltd
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A number of events will take place through the year including the first all-encompassing industry awards ceremony for grounds staff taking place at the Emirates Stadium on 15 October. This will be preceded by the IOG’s one-day Sports Turf Conference during the day.
Over the last two years the institute has transformed itself with the establishment of the IOG Academy – an apprenticeship through to retirement training programme to enable grounds staff to gain the professional qualifications they need throughout their career.
“Having doubled the membership over the last two years we will continue to follow the institute’s original mission to improve the status of groundsmen and the standard of groundsmanship,” says Geoff Webb, IOG Chief Executive.
“To this end we have been working with the national governing bodies of sport such as The Football Association on a soon-to-be-launched training initiative for grassroots grounds professionals, and the England and Wales Cricket Board on fine turf issues,” he added.
There is still much to do. Grounds staff are still not paid well and work in difficult conditions. The IOG therefore needs to evolve to meet the demands faced by its members in this ever-changing industry.
The IOG has been highlighting its concerns with a number of key politicians and stakeholders, pointing to the vital contribution that grounds staff make to British sport. This has led to Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe MP saying:
“Ensuring the long term maintenance of facilities is vital to the sustainability of sports provision. Grounds maintenance is a key element of this. I welcome initiatives by the IOG to raise skill levels in this area and the grounds maintenance profession as a whole.”
The IOG was founded by W H Bowles BEM, head groundsman of Eton College, and ten other founder members in 1934 at a pub by Cannon Street Station in London. Each of the founders put in £1 to set up the organisation.
Some of the IOG’s highlights include:
- The introduction in 1953 of the IOG examination system, the forerunner to today’s renowned training and education services;
- In 1990, the launch of the IOG Consultancy Service, which advises organisations worldwide on the development and management of sports and amenity facilities;
- The launch in 1938 of the IOG exhibition – now known as IOG SALTEX; and
- The launch of the 2012 Fund in 2007, which provides funding and bursaries to support industry development.
“It is clear that health and the uptake of sporting activities is a major item on the Government agenda, as is the legacy that the Olympics (and other major sporting events including the Commonwealth Games in 2014) will create. As such, our activity within the political arena is focused here, to highlight the issues we face as an industry.
“This is one of a number of steps that the IOG is taking to voice concern and request action on matters that we as an industry are facing – for example, the encouragement of more young people into the sector, and to raise the pay and status of ground professionals.
“We will continue to lobby, with our partners who face similar issues, to address and raise the profile of these important issues with Government, those involved in sports governance and others in a position of influence.”
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org
Source: Wildish Communications Ltd
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