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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