National Apprenticeship Week 2024
To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we take a look at two greenkeepers who have benefitted from schemes and give you some ideas on how to kickstart your career.
'Six years ago, I decided I'd had enough of my line of work'
Nik Wadsworth braced himself for a challenge when he took on the Level 3 Advanced Golf Greenkeeper programme, but he has never been afraid to work hard.
The two-year course is a tough nut to crack, testing the practical and theoretical skills of the candidates.
And Wadsworth, who undertook a career change after a chance offer to try greenkeeping, was breaking new ground in more ways than one as he became the first person in the country to gain the honour in December last year, the news doubling nicely as an early Christmas present as well as a major career boost.
"I was delighted to be the first to pass the revised Level 3," said Nik, the first assistant at Dunham Forest Golf & Country Club. "The course was extremely hard work and I believe that I passed the exam because I really worked for it. What it did do was to make me think about what I was doing."
It was not Wadsworth's first experience of post-school academia, having earned a geography degree before embarking on a career as a business analyst. His decision to pursue an alternative professional path initially led him to teaching, but the lure of the golf course is what ended up winning the 53-year-old over.
"Six years ago I decided I'd had enough of my line of work, took a postgraduate teacher training qualification, but then grew bored and restless after completing it, until a friend at Lymm Golf Club asked if I wanted to try a couple of weeks greenkeeping there. I loved it, stayed and never looked back."
That restlessness proved an asset once in the profession, steering him towards career progression as he gained his Level 2 with distinction before immediately tackling the Level 3 qualification at Myerscough under tutor Chris Garland-Kelly.
Wadsworth's work at Lymm did not go unnoticed as he was twice nominated for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, in 2021 and 2022. It's little wonder he loves the job, given his aptitude for it.
"Greenkeepers are wonderful," said Wadsworth. "They can turn their hands to anything - they are builders, mechanics and engineers - as well as to anything turf-related."
'Like many before me, I left school with no clue of a career'
Tom Bromfield had no idea what he wanted to do when he left school, but it wasn't too long before he had his entire career plan mapped out.
Trentham Golf Club's first assistant became the second person to pass their Level 3 Advanced Golf Greenkeeper course, representing another step towards his goal of managing a greens team.
Bromfield started his qualification at Myerscough College in April 2021 to content developed by Lantra, and only Nik Wadsworth beat him to the bunch on gaining the honour.
For someone who knew early on that greenkeeping was the vocation for him, the Level 3 is but one stepping stone on his career development path.
"Like many before me, I left school with no clue of a career," said the 22-year-old. "I played golf with my dad at Barlaston Golf Club nearby. He inspired me to take up the game. Dad knew the head greenkeeper, who mentioned that Trentham Golf Club was seeking an apprentice greenkeeper.
"I tried it for a week, loved it and began an apprenticeship there in September 2017. Working outside, doing a variety of jobs really appealed to me."
By summer 2019, Bromfield was graduating from his Level 2 in Golf Greenkeeping, and while he initially planned for a break before embarking on his Level 3, the imposition of Covid forced a rethink.
Meanwhile, he was shortlisted for the finals of the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award and won it, with two weeks' work experience at a course near Nice in France coming as part of the prize.
"That made me so proud, to have been noticed for the work I had done," he said. "I was dealing with a different climate [in Nice], with temperatures up to 40 degrees. I was out of my comfort zone, but this helped me develop myself and gave me more independence and self-reliance as few people spoke English."
He has already started making strides in the industry, having been helped along the way by Adam Shoesmith, who tutored him for his Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications.
"Adam had been a greenkeeper himself and it felt good to know I was receiving the right information and to continue with his style of delivery," he said. "I needed Level 3 to allow me to progress up the career ladder and achieving the qualification helped me to get promoted to first assistant greenkeeper in December."
The material for these two case studies was provided by Lantra.
A guide to UK Apprenticeships
Andy Wight of Oaklands College explains how apprenticeships work in England.
Apprenticeships in England are government-funded courses. There is a mandatory requirement for the employer to provide the student with at least six hours of off-the-job training each week for the agreed duration of the apprenticeship.
The training provider is required to assess what skills, knowledge and behaviours are already held by the apprentice and must not charge for any such skills already held.
The audit must show there is a sufficient training need for the apprenticeship to last the minimum qw-month duration. If a candidate has expensive experience, they may be declined an apprenticeship.
Once all details have been agreed, the learning period starts. During this time, the apprentice will learn all the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to complete the apprenticeship. At the end of this period, the employer, training provider and apprentice will all agree that they are ready for Gateway - the terminology used by the English government to denoate when an apprentice has finished their training and is ready to take their End Point Assessment (EPA).
The EPA will normally consist of a personal statement that is written by the student and an online exam, as well as practical assessments and a professional discussion carried out at the apprentice's place of work.
The EPA will be carried out by an Independent End Point Assessor, who will grade the apprenticeship components and provide a final grade.
Apprentices are expected to hold the required level of maths and English for the apprenticeship they are undertaking. Level 2 apprentices must hold at least level 1 maths and English and attempte level 2 maths and English. Level 3 and 5 apprentices must hold level 2 maths and English.
Apprenticeship levels:
Level 2: Greenkeeper apprenticeship
Level 3: The Advanced Sports Turf Technician
Level 5: Golf Course Manager apprenticeship
Who pays?
Apprentices may not contribute. Where employers have fewer than 50 employees, the government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship up to the funding band maximum for apprentices aged:
- 16 to 18
- 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan provided by their local authority, or has been in the care of their local authority
For students that do not meet the above criteria, the employer will pay 5% of the funding. However, there is one exception and that applies to employers with a wage bill of over £3 million, who must pay 100% of the apprenticeship cost.
Author
