Top of the class for grounds management

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has over the years delivered training in partnership with many National Governing Bodies of sport (NGBs). This includes the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Football Association, the Racecourse Association, Bowls England, the Lawn Tennis Association, the All England Lawn Tennis Club and, more recently, FIFA.

Indeed, the IOG has been a pioneer of education in the groundscare sector, establishing national occupational standards for the sports turf industry, in conjunction with City & Guilds, and sector skills councils Lantra and Skills Active. This has made the IOG the leading provider of sports turf education and training for and
on behalf of the sports turf care sector.

Developing courses
The institute delivers nationally-accredited qualifications through City & Guilds, Lantra Awards and the Scottish Qualifications Authority, alongside its own Professional Development Qualifications. The IOG Apprenticeship Scheme offers apprentice work placements at independent schools and can offer prospective employers the correct guidance to successfully employ and train an apprentice.

In addition to offering a wide range of its own one or two day short training courses on sports turf maintenance, as well as the full suite of Lantra Awards’ training courses, the IOG offers a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme that enables individuals to keep their knowledge up to date and manage their own learning and growth.

In 2008, the IOG launched a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which continues to be improved so as to reflect the rapidly evolving nature of IT systems and how they are accessed by users. The aim is to ensure the IOG stays at the cutting edge of that technology to deliver training and education in the most innovative way possible.

The IOG has also worked in close collaboration with FIFA to help provide the organisation with a VLE, which it used for ‘Win in Africa with Africa’ - a two-year programme to raise standards of groundsmanship and maintenance for synthetic surfaces.

Over the last 20 years, the IOG has developed courses that are now endorsed and supported by NGBs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With this support and endorsement, the IOG has designed a structured and progressive fourtiered scheme of training courses to meet the needs of grounds staff for the management and maintenance of sporting surfaces and many of its courses are sport specific.

The IOG also offers specialist training to cover subjects such as pest and disease management or machinery maintenance. Throughout the year, across the UK and Ireland, the IOG offers a comprehensive programme of courses held at a range of suitable venues.

Levels of Training
IOG courses cover four levels of training starting from the one day Level 1 foundation and refresher courses to two day Level 4 grounds management courses.

Delivered by some of the industry’s top grounds professionals and trainers. The one day Level 1 Foundation course offers a practical approach to the preparation and maintenance of a sports surface. It delivers the essential operations of ‘best practice’ grounds maintenance with a hands-on, practical induction to the profession.

The one day Level 2 Intermediate course offers the theory behind the practice of preparing and maintaining a sports surface. The knowledge gained on this course will provide delegates with the solid foundation of knowledge required by today’s grounds professionals.

The one day Level 3 Advanced course offers the essential science of grounds maintenance. The skills obtained on this course enable problems to be identified quickly and accurately so appropriate solutions can be implemented.

The two day Level 4 Management of Sports Turf (from maintenance to management) course develops the core skills required by today’s professional grounds managers.

As well as focusing on the techniques and principles required to produce a safe and consistent surface, the course also covers interpersonal and management skills as well as an update on relevant legislative matters.

Bespoke training
If you have specific requirements in terms of timing, location or content, the IOG can offer bespoke training courses to suit your needs. This includes professional tutors, comprehensive training manuals and an optional online assessment which will give delegates an accredited certificate of competence.

The IOG can mix and match this training to your organisation’s requirements. Examples of the subjects the IOG can cover are: artificial, bowls, cricket, football, golf, rugby - both disciplines, tennis - hard court and grass. All aspects of managing, maintaining and constructing for the above sports grounds can be covered.

The IOG also offers bespoke training on other related topics such as budgets and accounts, analysing how to set and manage your budget, symptoms of poor drainage, including the types of systems available, and health and safety - compiling health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments. Human Resources, including staff management, appraisals, motivational techniques, and disciplinary is also offered, while irrigation, lawns and performance Quality Standards (PQS), how they can be applied to the grounds you manage are also available.

Benefits of good grounds maintenance
According to Richard Bryce of Sports Ground Services – a sports ground contractor that includes schools among its host of clients – well-maintained sports pitches can inspire users to participate in a range of sports and activities.

He said: “School playing fields are relatively inexpensive to maintain, and the benefits of a good grounds maintenance programme are immeasurable when you consider the potential of increased usage and the health and well-being of the participants.”

With recent national surveys indicating that adult participation in some of our major sports is in decline, it is more important than ever that youngsters have a positive experience of school sport. With that in mind, if education establishments have their own in-house teams to look after their sports fields then, of course, it is imperative they are well-versed – and well-trained – in pitch maintenance.

Richard Bryce’s son, Dean, also works in the company and within two years he has already chalked up and impressive CV which includes the IOG Foundation and Intermediate Cricket Courses as well as the Level 2 Diploma in work-based Horticulture (Sports Turf – Groundsman). He is currently completing his Level 3 in this.

Local Authority needs
The IOG has partnered with the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) to deliver joint courses which support the maintenance and provision of parks and green spaces.

Optimising available resources is especially relevant in the current climate and the IOG is supporting APSE in a range of courses which support local authorities, including health and safety, asset management in parks and green spaces, as well as street cleaning supervisory skills for team leaders.

Commenting on the partnership, IOG head of education Chris Gray says: “We will be able to offer training that brings together the expertise from both organisations, providing an enhanced and well-balanced service to meet the needs of local authorities.

“In particular we are able to provide bespoke training which can address the specific needs of individual authorities in a cost effective way. One area that is currently being developed is that of providing training to parks volunteers whose services are increasingly being relied on to reduce management costs and to further engage and empower a community in local decision making.”

Jan Kennedy, APSE’s head of training, added: “‘It’s too easy, in the current climate of budget cuts, to neglect the training and development of key staff and partners, but this is often a false economy. Getting services right first time, ensuring best practice and good health and safety, as well as delivering for local communities in local environmental services will ultimately deliver dividends in service cost, quality and efficiency.”

Further information
www.iog.org