How you can stay professionally sharp even if you're furloughed

6 November 2020 Announcement
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Have you been placed on furlough once again?

Whether your employer has asked you to go on furlough for the first time or you’re returning to the sub’s bench after being on the sidelines since March, it can feel like your life is at standstill.

But if you’re a BIGGA member, that doesn’t need to be the case and BIGGA membership gives you access to a wealth of resources that help you keep moving forwards.

Likewise, if your hours have been reduced, you could use that extra free time during lockdown to continue your professional development.

As a BIGGA member there are countless was to keep yourself progressing during these difficult times. Not only will this ensure that you’re fit and ready to go when you get the call to return to work, but continued learning is also essential for good mental health, especially during such stressful times.

BIGGA members have access to a huge catalogue of online learning on every relevant topic imaginable to the turf professional. Most are included free as part of your BIGGA membership. 

You can also keep track of your learning using our CPD system, which enables you to record your learning and achieve CPD milestones and other certificates of achievement. You can save these and present them to your current or potential employers, which can be hugely important in a competitive jobs market.

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Here are some really simple ways you can engage with the learning available to BIGGA members:

Read Greenkeeper International (including back issues)

1 CPD Credit

Greenkeeper International is your monthly journal sent to every member of the association. But did you know you can get a CPD credit just for reading it? You can also earn up to five credits by contributing to the magazine, so get involved today.

Watch Continue to Learn Extra

1 CPD Credit

Throughout 2020 we’ve presented a number of live webinars on a wide range of topics, from HR in the coronavirus to in-depth agronomy. These handy webinars are now available to watch on the BIGGA website and all last around an hour, so they’re easy to watch throughout the day.

This summer a number of BIGGA partners, including Rain Bird and Germinal, have produced an exclusive series of webinars providing an in-depth look at various aspects of agronomy and these are also available to watch on our website.

Listen to the Green Room Golf Course Podcast

1 CPD Credit

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BIGGA’s regular podcast presents interviews and talks with some of the biggest names in the golf and greenkeeping industry. You can subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and listen in at your leisure – whether exercising, driving to work or while doing chores around the home.

Check out our shared GCSAA resources

1 credit per hour of learning

This summer the GCSAA has shared its extensive library of resources with BIGGA members, for the first time giving UK greenkeepers access to the incredible wealth of information available to the members of the American superintendents’ association. 

Read up with the BIGGA Lending Library

BIGGA houses a library of resource books that are available to members of the association to read. We’re in the process of relocating BIGGA House, which means some books aren’t available. Others are accessible in a digital format, giving you instant access to them, just look out for DIGITAL in the title.

Sit back and watch videos from years of Continue to Learn

1 credit per hour of learning

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Each year we record a large selection of seminars and conferences that take place at Continue to Learn, our flagship learning experience for BIGGA members. This videos are then posted on the BIGGA website and available to watch online, making them an invaluable resource for members who want to revisit a particularly interesting talk or who perhaps weren’t able to attend Continue to Learn. This is a growing library with videos dating back a number of years.

Search the Turfgrass Information File

Presented by Michigan State University Libraries, the TGIF features practically everything ever written about greenkeeping and turf management and as such, it’s an incredibly valuable resource for BIGGA members and the industry. The Turfgrass Information Centre has over 250,000 records stored in the TGIF dating back to the early days of greenkeeping, so it’s well worth taking the time to familiarise yourself with it.

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Check out the Agrovista Amenity Academy

Product courses – 1 CPD credit

Knowledge courses – 4 CPD credits

Physical and mental health and wellbeing courses – 4 CPD credits

The Agrovista Amenity Academy is a completely free online learning resource with bitesize courses and lessons being created on a range of areas of turf management and is available to BIGGA members.

Other organisations such as BIGGA’s education supporters and partners, TurfNet and even the Open University offer free online learning. You can even claim CPD credits for these by filling in a personal learning statement.

Book your spot at Continue to Learn 

Wide number of CPD Credits available

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BIGGA’s annual education conference usually takes place alongside BTME each January. But with the exhibition postponed due to coronavirus, we’ve taken the learning online, giving BIGGA members access to the same great education they’ve come to expect, but in a COVID safe setting. There’s an incredibly wide range of speakers taking part in the event and the online nature means it’s entirely flexible. We’ve also expanded the timetable across two weeks, breaking the learning up into bitesize sections and allowing you to pick and choose the education that’s most relevant to you. 

For more information about what BIGGA can do to support you during the difficult times we're all experiencing, get in touch with our team, who are available to answer any questions you may have.

Author

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Karl Hansell
BIGGA | Head of Marketing and Communications

Karl has been head of communications for BIGGA since March 2016. His duties include editing the monthly Greenkeeper International magazine, in addition to other communications activities for the association.

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