Training & Development
“Whilst not mandatory, we do strongly encourage our students to seek employment during summer and other
holiday periods”
At Myerscough College, we have full and part-time courses in Sportsturf from levels 1 (Certificate) to 6 (BSc Hons). The majority of full-time students are on 1, 2 or 3 year programmes, which entail both academic learning but also practical training.
At Further Education levels 1-3, there is often a larger emphasis on practical skills acquisition, as these students will most often enter industry as greenkeepers and groundstaff, where their role is essentially ‘hands-on’ practising a variety of turf husbandry skills, preparing and restoring surfaces used for sport. We recognise, though, that our undergraduates need to have good practical skills if they are to succeed in industry.
Undergraduates come from a variety of backgrounds, including full-time education (A levels or Diploma), or from industry where they may have attained NVQs or equivalent. As such, in year one of our undergraduate programmes, we do train students in practical skills as well as more technical and scientific aspects of Sportsturf management.
Throughout our provision, we take working with industry partners very seriously as an important aspect of our work in delivering all our courses and training programmes.
Myerscough staff gaining CPD and technical updating from Ransomes Jacobsen
Industry Links and Education
So, why do we work with industry?
Because our courses have a vocational core about equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to practise in industry as greenkeepers and groundstaff. Also, as managers and agronomists, it is crucial that the training is to the standards required by the industry.
We have excellent links to a variety of employers, manufacturers, suppliers and organisations which have been established over many years as a leading college providing education and training for the Sportsturf Industry. For full-time students, these links benefit their educational experience here at Myerscough and assist in their development of both necessary technical skills and knowledge.
Work experience and research
One way our students engage with industry, and further develop their skills and knowledge, is through work experience with numerous golf courses, sports grounds and facilities. Whilst work experience is not a mandatory requirement for undergraduate courses, we do strongly encourage our students to seek employment during summer and other holiday periods. We work with employers and help organise interviews with Golf Course and Grounds Managers, often at Saltex and BTME.
We know that working in the industry is the best way to apply their college learning and improve, through practice, their practical competence. This can also give students experience of major sporting events and competitions.
Myerscough sportsturf students have worked at many Open Golf competitions around UK golf courses and also at Ryder Cup events in Europe and the USA. In other sports, they have worked at Wimbledon, Premiership football and UEFA Cup competitions and at cricket Test matches. This obviously gives them experience of the pressures of sportsturf management at the highest levels and develops real skills, such as teamwork and communication, which are often just as critical as turf husbandry. Experience such as this cannot really be replicated in a college environment.
Students on further education courses work locally on golf courses and sports grounds one day a week to gain more experience. At Myerscough, we have our own golf course and sports pitches which are used commercially for sport, and students at all levels develop skills here before entering industry. For work experience overseas, we have worked for many years with Mike O’Keeffe who manages the Ohio State University Internship Programme, which has enabled many Myerscough sportsturf students to work on prestigious golf courses in the USA.
Students and staff also engage with industry through research and project work. This for part-time and online students often includes real work projects such as the construction of a new tee or the installation of drainage systems. It can also involve trial work for fertilisers and other turf maintenance materials including rootzones and topdressings.
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