Good demand for groundspeople
Opportunities for groundspeople are good as:
- grounds need to be maintained regularly
- vacancies arise fairly often due to growing use of sportsgrounds, requiring more people to maintain them
- turnover is relatively high among groundspeople at the non-managerial level.
Qualified groundspeople with management, business and technical skills are most in demand, especially in the local government sector, which includes city and district councils.
Demand is greatest in the main city centres due to increasing population in these areas, and a growing number of people wanting to play sport. This means more sportsgrounds are being built in the main centres.
According to the Census, 3,354 groundspeople worked in New Zealand in 2018.
A direct approach is the best way to find a job
Find out who manages your local golf course, club, sportsground or racetrack, and approach them directly.
The best time to get work experience is spring and autumn when maintenance work is highest, and when hundreds of temporary workers are taken on by sportsgrounds. If you enjoy the work, like operating machinery and can show that you are reliable, you are likely to be asked to stay on permanently and be offered an apprenticeship in sports turf management.
It will also help if you have an understanding of occupational safety and health, and a Growsafe and/or Agrichemical Approved Handler Certificate (from experience in farming or horticulture).
Types of employers varied
Most groundspeople work for:
- city councils – this includes work on rugby fields and cricket pitches
- companies that are contracted to city and district councils to do sports turf management
- golf courses, racetracks and bowling greens
- schools.
