OPINION: SKILL SETS NEED RECOGNITION

TurfPro editor, Laurence Gale, writes . . .

I recently met up with Professor John Moverley to talk about his current thoughts on our industry. 

I have known John for several years. It was in his role as chairman of the Amenity Forum, that John asked me if I would be interested in attending the Forum’s annual conference to help promote and record the day’s events - a role I enjoyed immensely for several years. 

In that time I got to meet many industry top professionals and was able via my role of editor, help promote the role of the Amenity Forum and many of the supporting organisations, manufactures and service providers.

I personally believe it is important to flag up and promote the work of the many hundreds of turf professionals who for years give an unrelenting service to the industry and are responsible for delivering a vast range of community and professional sport and amenity services.

John Moverley, chairing an Amenity Forum Conference 

Far too often they are not recognised for the work they do, and I have written on many occasions, of the issues we face as a turf / amenity professional.

A run of recent articles in TurfPro have highlighted some of these current issues - namely, pay and working conditions and understanding the complex role of these turf managers and practitioners along with hearing the difficulties in recruiting new people into our industry.  

Also, a recent chat with Mark Hall, the estates manager at Harper Adams University, led to us discussing these issues, namely the fact that we still do not get the recognition we deserve, especially when you think of the cost and investment in the training of staff.

To be able to undertake the many different tasks undertaken at the university, his staff require to be competent and trained in the use of several types of machinery and equipment and be adequately qualified in the use of pesticides.

Mark Hall, estates manager, Harper Adams University 

So, in many cases, each staff member has acquired several industry certificates to allow them to use a plethora of handheld machinery and equipment, such as chainsaws, strimmers and mowers. They also must have spraying certificates, usually PA1, PA6, PA 2, and stem injections certificates. On top of this they also have certificates for tractors and other specialist machinery, notably side arm flails. Quite an investment for the university.

On top of that, many of these staff will have gone to college and studied a relevant horticultural or sports turf qualification. 

The point I am trying to make here, is that today’s turf and amenity professionals are well qualified and hold many current legislative certificates to do their job. All the while, continuing to attend courses to keep up to date with the latest protocols.

Is it not time that we finally recognise the skill sets and commitment of these turf and amenity professionals?! We do within our own sector,  but it is people outside of our industry who do not understand the technical aspects required to deliver the services we provide.  

More importantly, we need to raise the profile of what we do.

It is staggering to consider, on a national scale, what we bring to the table. There would be no public open spaces to enjoy. No sporting venues to play sport both at a professional and grass roots level. There would be no plant nurseries to buy plants from. All the road verges would become hazardous. Transport routes would be compromised by overgrowth. Air fields would become un operational.Ponds and lakes would become polluted. And that is just to name a few issues. 

Recruitment

So, back to my meeting with John. For those who are not as familiar with his background, On leaving full time employment, John became independent executive chairman of the UK Amenity Forum, He combined this with consultancy and a number of non-executive board positions. After 14 years in the role, in 2022 John stepped down as chairman of the Amenity Forum. However he retains strong interest and enthusiasm for the amenity sector and continues to write and present on the topic to a range of audiences. Most recently a strong focus has been on adopting sustainable practice, a key government priority.

BASIS stand at Amenity Forum Conference 

We soon got onto the subject of recruitment. John believes passionately in the importance of bringing new recruits into the amenity sector and feels that a combined effort across all the sub sectors is needed to help promote careers - and in particular drive up the number of apprenticeships. John believes that too often what happens in maintaining amenity spaces and sports surfaces goes unnoticed and it is not highlighted as being a rewarding career. As John often says, what happens in amenity impacts upon every UK citizen every day, providing safe, healthy and sustainable surfaces fit for purpose. He has always urged those in the sector to be proud of what they do.

STRI Science Live event 

John told me, "We need to promote our sector to attract new recruits. It can provide a rewarding and very enjoyable career. All political parties support the growth of apprenticeships and so now is the time for all involved to get behind this and really make it happen."

It was plain to see that we both believe in the need to find a way to promote our industry on a grander, national scale. We must get many of our organisations to come together and have a national campaign to make young school leavers and schools have a proper insight into the many roles and opportunities our sector has to offer.

Once they know about these opportunities, we then need a career pathway for them to get on a relevant national apprenticeship schemes to fulfil their expectations and hopefully entice them to become the next generation of turf and amenity professionals.