IOG EMBARKS ON SECOND-STAGE INDUSTRY-WIDE RESEARCH TO ADDRESS ‘GROUNDS FOR CONCERN’ OVER MANAGEMENT ATTITUDES

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has warned there is ‘skills time bomb’ facing the grounds profession after its industry-leading study revealed that the sector is largely staffed by 40- to 49-year-olds who are underpaid, under-trained and underrated.

Now, following the results of the IOG’s ‘Grounds management – a hidden profession’ research* that for the first time profiled the industry and the people within it – their entry, careers, salaries, job satisfaction levels and training – the IOG is embarking on a second-stage study designed to identify the relative standing of grounds staff within their organisations and the reasons for this perception.

Funded by the IOG 2012 Fund, the aims of the ‘Grounds for Concern’ study are to:

• Identify attitudes of senior management to grounds staff.
• Identify senior management perceptions of actual and potential skills shortages and skill gaps in groundsmanship.
• Understand the qualifications held by staff and their pay.
• Identify senior management strategies for the utilisation of grounds staff in the future.
  

According to Geoff Webb, IOG Chief Executive: “It is clear there are certain barriers to entry to the profession – such as poor perception and low pay, as well as the need for more promotion of the sector within schools and colleges. Our attention must therefore firmly focus on addressing these obstacles in order to encourage more young people into the profession – and we need to determine then understand senior management’s perception of the industry, because we must ensure there is a new generation of skilled grounds professionals coming through.”

The study – which has received input from Lantra and will be carried out by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University - will involve a large-scale online survey of organisations such as professional clubs, voluntary sector, schools, national governing bodies, local authorities and private contractors. This will be followed up with in-depth interviews with key personnel within these organisations.

A final report will be available by the end of March 2009, which will detail the findings and suggest future actions.

* Carried out in 2007/08, the IOG’s ‘Grounds management – a hidden profession’ survey valued the grounds management and maintenance sector in England at around £580 million and revealed that, for example:

Salaries are low compared to other industries;

• Forty per cent of grounds professionals had not had any training during the past 12 months – and a similar number felt they would benefit from additional training;
• Less than half of respondents suggested their employers had a “very good” understanding of the skills required by their jobs;
• The industry has approximately 20,000 full-time employees plus over 20,000 volunteers; and
• That only 0.4 per cent of workers are women.

Source: Wildish Communications Ltd
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IOG SALTEX SALES SUCCESSES OUTSHINE RECESSIONARY DOOM AND GLOOM

Enthusiastic IOG SALTEX exhibitors have kicked off 2009 with reports of show sales successes that help brighten the current economic doom and gloom.

For example, according to Lynda Green, operations director at Terrain Aeration – which used the show as the launchpad for its new Remote Terralift machine alongside specialist Airforce Terralift equipment - the response by show visitors has already meant the new machine has been involved in the contracts won at IOG SALTEX for work at bowling greens, croquet lawns, football clubs and golf courses as well as local government.

In addition, she says, the company’s ‘show order book’ also included Airblaster work at private estates.

D J Turfcare also used the show to launch a series of new products, including the Turfcare - an American machine that de-thatches and overseeds (or fertilises) in one compact unit.

Ideal for contractors and groundsmen, the fact that Turfcare can be fitted with blades to verti-cut and covers a 22 inch wide swathe in a single pass certainly appealed to visitors to the Windsor showground – and none more so than the team from lawn care specialist, The Lawn Doctor.

“We are often called on to do some serious scarifying and overseeding,” says the company’s Gareth Case. “We had been looking for a machine that does both jobs – then we saw the Turfsaver.”

Since buying the machine, immediately after the show, the company has used it to scarify and overseed a cricket square, croquet lawns, a tennis court and a golf green – as well as domestic lawns.

Importantly, because this machine is capable of combining several tasks, it is the perfect example of how grounds care professionals can use IOG SALTEX to source equipment that is not only fit for purpose but also capable of generating added bottom line benefits.
Walkover Sprayers, a company that has been steadily rebuilding its UK customer base, says IOG SALTEX provided it with a number of opportunities from overseas visitors. Says director Paul Ace: “We have created new sales and distributor agreements in the USA, France, Belgium and Greece – and we are now in negotiations with interested parties from Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway and Australia.”

IOG SALTEX organisers, the Institute of Groundsmanship, says plans are in place to make this year’s show (8-10 September at Windsor Racecourse, Berks) even bigger and better – with a number of special feature areas, including: The Intermediate Final of the World Skills UK Landscape Gardening Competition; AEA Live Machinery Demo Arena, Sports Turf Skills Village, Children's Play feature, The World of Arboriculture,
Sports Equipment Zone, plus Free seminar programmes.

IOG SALTEX 2009 will be held on 8-10 September at Windsor Racecourse, Berks, and will embrace fine turf and sports surfaces, turf maintenance equipment, children’s outdoor play and safety surfacing, landscaping, contractors, commercial vehicles, outdoor leisure and facilities management, as well as software and security equipment. The show is attended by open space management professionals and contractors – from groundsmen and greenkeepers through to play officers, architects, designers and surveyors as well as local authority and outdoor leisure facility managers.

Source: Wildish Communications Ltd
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