Tag Archive for: iog

IOG Recommend 2.5% Pay Rise

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IOG Recommend 2.5% Pay Rise: The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is recommending a 2.5 per cent increase in grounds staff’s national minimum salary bands for 2019.

The IOG say the recommendations have been made against a backdrop of economic uncertainty over the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, which is likely to impact growth; GDP growth is expected to be low in the medium term, with 1.6% the forecasted figure for 2019, and it is not expected to rise above this level until after 2023.

IOG Recommend 2.5% Pay Rise

The suggested rise sits between CPIH (Consumer Price Inflation including owner-occupier’s housing costs) inflation of 2.2% and the 2.9% increase in the voluntary living wage. As a result, it should take account of any increase in the cost of living and should ensure that grounds staff pay rates remain competitive.

The IOG recommended national basic salary bands for 2019 are:

  • Grounds manager – £34,782-£55,431
  • Head groundsperson – £30,517-£41,885
  • Deputy head groundsperson/sole charge – £24,967-£31865
  • Groundsperson (skilled) – £23,348-£29,785
  • Groundsperson – £18,706-£23,863
  • Junior groundsperson – £15,905 (Age 17)
  • Junior groundsperson – £13,208 (Age 16).

These bands reflect minimum recommended basic salary payment and are based on a 37.5-hour week. Bonuses, overtime and subsistence payments have not been included and are therefore additional.

Importantly, the bottom of the scale for groundsperson (£18,250 for 2018) is already above the current UK-wide living wage rate. The recommended minimum pay rate for a groundsperson in London should be set at £21,000 (Outer) and £22,500 (Inner) to ensure everyone receives at least a living wage.

The IOG also encourages all employers to become accredited living wage employers and to make this explicit in their recruitment and employment offers.

In addition, a 5% increase to at least £575 per annum (compared to £550 in last year’s recommendations) should be paid to everyone – not just to junior posts as in the past – for the successful completion of IOG qualifications. This, says the IOG, will encourage an ongoing focus on training and professional development.

Given the current climate of economic and political uncertainty and on-going fiscal restraint, the IOG says it is of critical importance to job satisfaction levels that employers ensure they are meeting their obligations in ensuring fair payment for overtime worked and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This should be done in partnership with employees with agreements reached about the balance between overtime pay, time off in lieu and flexible working.

In addition to this survey, IOG chief executive Geoff Webb says the IOG will be commissioning a separate body of research to look at salary scales in elite, global sports stadia.

“While the IOG’s suggested salary scales have progressively improved over the last decade, it is recognised that the roles and salaries of those working at sports stadia across the UK require further review and analysis,” he comments. “This will be undertaken within separate, ongoing IOG Industry Research and the results will be presented at SALTEX 2019.”

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Milton Jones To Perform At IOG Awards

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Milton Jones To Perform At IOG Awards: The 2018 IOG Industry Awards will feature several high achievers although it won’t include scheduled comedian Tom Allen – who regrettably now has filming commitments with the Great British Bake Off.

No worries though, the IOG has signed up an incredible replacement, Milton Jones – the wild-haired ‘Prince of Puns’ who, fresh off his UK tour, will be sharing gags to a sell-out audience at the IOG’s annual Awards night at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on the first evening of SALTEX next week.

Milton Jones To Perform At IOG Awards

Milton is a previous Perrier Best Newcomer, the winner of two Sony Awards, and a British Comedy Award nominee. His TV credits include Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Mock the Week, and Dave’s One Night Stand.

One of the UK’s most successful ‘one liner’ stand-ups, Milton’s acclaimed live shows have all played to more than 100,000 people, all of whom laughed themselves silly at lines such as: “About a month before my grandfather died we covered his back with lard. After that he went downhill very quickly.”

Commenting on the new act, IOG CEO Geoff Webb says:

“Milton Jones is excellent and his one liners will no doubt have our audience in stitches. We can’t wait to host our 10th edition of the IOG Awards celebrating a decade of achievement in groundsmanship.”

For more information about the IOG Awards please visit https://www.iog.org/awards

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Tickets Selling Fast For IOG Awards

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Tickets Selling Fast For IOG Awards: The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards celebrate a 10 year anniversary on October 31 at the Hilton Metropole hotel at the Birmingham NEC, and tickets are selling fast for the event on the evening of the day one of SALTEX.

Celebrating the achievements of volunteer and professional grounds teams, as well as community clubs and national stadia, the awards will be hosted by Mark Saggers from talkSPORT radio, and comedian, writer and actor Tom Allen will be providing the after-dinner entertainment.

Tickets Selling Fast For IOG Awards

Tom will be presenting his unique style of sharp, acerbic wit and camp, as well as riotous storytelling to the audience of groundscare devotees and sports administrators and personalities.

He started as a stand-up comedian at the age of 22 and went on to win So You Think You’re Funny in Edinburgh and the BBC New Comedy Awards. He has since performed to audiences around the world and has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Mock the Week, The Great British Bake Off’s Extra Slice, Celebrity The Crystal Maze as well as the John Bishop Show, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala and Just a Minute.

To secure your seat at the celebratory event – which cost £95 each for IOG members and £190 each for non-members – please contact the IOG by email (awards@iog.org) or call 01908 312 511 where you can also gain details of how to become an IOG member.

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IOG Welcomes Lantra As End Point Assessment Organisation

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IOG Welcomes Lantra As End Point Assessment Organisation: Lantra has become the End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) for the new Level 2 Sports Turf Operative Apprenticeship Standard developed by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and a large employer group.

There are already more than 50 apprentices undertaking a learning journey to achieve this high-quality standard.

IOG Welcomes Lantra As End Point Assessment Organisation

Commenting, IOG learning programme architect Chris Gray, said: “After sustained work by the IOG which has included advocating for a solution as well as making representation to government and key stakeholders, the initiative of Lantra becoming the government-approved EPAO for the standard is welcomed.

“The development provides further reassurance to the industry that we are on a sound footing to raising standards within our industry and further promoting this as a sustainable career for many.”

IOG chief executive Geoff Webb, added: “This announcement complements our work in developing a national natural turf Pitch Grading Framework, which charts how grounds personnel can progress from volunteer to professional level – by linking the standards of surfaces to the necessary skills needed to ensure surfaces reach their optimum levels through a blended learning approach to education and training.”

Lantra marketing development manager, Jo-Anne Bryan, said: “Lantra is committed to supporting the development of skills in the land-based sector. Building for the future by developing the next generation of industry specialists is a fundamental business driver. We are therefore delighted to have been approved as an EPAO for the new standard and look forward to continuing to work closely with the IOG in helping to meet the industry’s needs.”

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Nominations Open For IOG Awards

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Nominations Open For IOG Awards: Nominations are now open for the 2018 Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards, with 21 categories of entry recognising the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff in both grassroots and professional sports at clubs of every size and from all areas of the UK.

This year’s awards – the 10th in the series and being held on October 31 at the Hilton Metropole hotel at the Birmingham NEC, on the evening of the first day of SALTEX – includes the introduction of new awards and enhancements to existing categories.

Nominations Open For IOG Awards

To celebrate the anniversary, the IOG is planning some exciting changes to the awards event which has continually grown in status for acknowledging the achievements of volunteer and professional grounds teams, as well as community clubs and national stadia.

Commenting, IOG chief executive Geoff Webb says: “We are planning some exciting developments for the awards presentations to mark the 10th anniversary. We have added new categories and enhanced the entry criteria – opening up the awards to more potential winners from all sectors of society – at all levels of the sporting spectrum.

“The awards continue to provide the only national stage for the achievements of everyone involved in groundscare across all levels of sport – whether professional teams at stadia or, indeed, the lone volunteer groundsman at a small village club.

“Importantly, applications to every category are encouraged from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as well as England.”

He adds: “These are the only awards for groundsmen that are judged by groundsmen, and we are lucky to have a dedicated group of volunteer judges with a range of backgrounds that encompass the diversity of the industry and profession today.

“Please take the time to nominate as you must know many deserving candidates and great examples of sports turf management at every level.”

The 2018 IOG Industry Award categories are:

  •  IOG Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year
  • IOG Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Grounds Person of the Year
  • IOG Redexim Charterhouse/AMS Volunteer Sports Grounds Person/Team of the Year
  • IOG National Governing Bodies’ Community Sports Club Grounds Team/Individual of the Year
  • IOG Public Sector Sports Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG Bowling Greenkeeper/Team of the Year
  • IOG Best Managed Artificial Surface Award
  • IOG Ransomes Environmental and Ecology Strategy Award
  • IOG National Governing Bodies’ Professional Multi- Sports Ground/Facility
  • IOG Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team/Individual of the Year
  • IOG John Deere Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG Kubota Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG SISGrass Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year – for English Leagues 1 & 2, National League, National League North/South, Scottish Championship & Leagues 1 & 2, Ireland & Wales Professional Leagues
  • IOG SGL Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year – for the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League
  • IOG University/College Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG Growth Products Independent School Grounds Team of the Year
  • IOG International Ambassador of the Year
  • The IOG Ransomes/DLF Johnsons Alex R Millar Award – to the person chosen as the outstanding winner across all award categories
  • IOG GrassMaster Solutions Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement Award.

To make nominations, visit www.iog.org/awards where you can also find full details of entry criteria for each award.

For information on how to sponsor an award, please contact Karen Maxwell on 0908 552 987 or email: kmaxwell@iog.org

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IOG Pilots New Framework

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IOG Pilots New Framework: The leading membership organisation for people involved in the management and maintenance of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK, The IOG, is piloting a new framework to the ‘measurement’ of the standard of football pitches at grassroots level.

The new Pitch Grading Framework will not only highlight the level of an individual playing surface quality but also the appropriate training and education, and the recommended levels of qualifications needed by those who maintain it.

IOG Pilots New Framework

In terms of calculating the standard of a pitch, each level of the Framework has certain parameters and, after measurement, the overall result/level of a pitch will be calculated. It is a system that has been used successfully within cricket by the IOG and the England and Wales Cricket Board for over ten years.

The recommended appropriate training and education will match each level of the Framework. For instance, for pitch maintenance at the Basic level (volunteer), an IOG Level 1 course (or equivalent) would be the minimum training recommended. Training/education would increase through the levels with IOG Level 5 (or equivalent) being recommended for individuals maintaining pitches at the Elite level. At all levels, the experience of those in situ will be taken into account and catered for individually.

Working closely with the Football Foundation and Football Association Pitch Improvement Programme, regional pitch advisers from the IOG-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) are now piloting the Framework to identify any potential improvements before the scheme’s full implementation in November, when it is envisaged that each grass sport will have its own specific pyramid.

A range of highly-experienced people have been consulted leading up to the pilot, including Sport England’s Framework Agronomists as well as leading professionals, volunteers and organisations attached to the groundscare industry.

Commenting on the development, GaNTIP director Jason Booth, said: “This really is an exciting time for the future of groundsmanship and to be part of it at the beginning is great for GaNTIP and the programme’s team.

“The system is not designed to identify what is missing; it is to identify where support and development is required, and the initial feedback from the National Governing Bodies of Sport which have viewed the concept has been nothing but positive.”

Geoff Webb, IOG chief executive, added: “The roll out of this revised framework for natural turf will bring much needed clarity to what constitutes a surface that’s fit for play, and it will lead to advanced knowledge and understanding of what input and experience is required to improve the quality of a playing surface and the enjoyment of sports in general.”

For more information, visit: www.iog.org

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IOG Advises Pay Rise

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IOG Advises Pay Rise: The leading membership organisation for those involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK, the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG), is recommending a 2.5 per cent increase in grounds staff’s national minimum salary bands for 2018. 

But the IOG also advises that a 2.5 per cent increase would, in real terms, equate to an increase of just 0.1 per cent when the projected Consumer Price Index (CPIH) is accounted for.

IOG Advises Pay Rise

However, the IOG says the increase would:

Maintain a sustainable pay structure for all grounds staff
Account for inflationary pressures, and
Ensure grounds staff pay is in line with overall market trends. Most pay awards in the private and leisure sectors are predicted to be two to three per cent in 2018.

Based on independent, industry-wide research, the IOG recommendations also suggest a two per cent extension to the top of each pay band, to allow for greater professional development and to reward experience.

The IOG recommended national basic salary bands for 2018 are:

Grounds manager
£34,909-£54,079

Heads groundsperson
£29,773-£40,863

Deputy head groundsperson/sole charge
£24,358-£31,088

Groundsperson (skilled)
£22,779-£29,059

Groundsperson
£18,250-£23,281

Junior groundsperson
£15,517 (Age 17)

Junior groundsperson
£12,886 (Age 16).

These bands reflect minimum recommended basic salary payment and are based on a 37.5-hour week. Bonuses, overtime and subsistence payments have not been included and are therefore additional.

The IOG also recommends that employers ensure they meet their obligations in terms of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and ensure fair payment for overtime worked – by agreement about the balance between overtime pay, time off in lieu or flexible working.

Regional pay allowances continue to be incorporated into the salary bands and the IOG recommends that higher cost areas of the country should make salary awards at the upper levels of the bands. Regional differences are:

Inner London
£3,751

Outer London
£2,240

Fringe areas
£670-£1,345.

It is expected that the recommended minimum pay rate for a groundsperson in London should be £20,000 – though there is an expectation that most in this category would already be paid above that, in line with previous recommendations.

In addition, £550 per annum should be paid to those in junior groundsperson and groundsperson bands for the successful completion of IOG qualifications such as NVQ Levels 1 and 2, to encourage recruitment and ensure an ongoing focus on training and professional development. With low productivity forecast over the medium term, it is desirable to further incentivise the acquisition of skills, the IOG adds.

The recommendations have been made against a backdrop of economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and a revised (downwards) expectation for GDP growth in 2018 (from 1.7 per cent to 1.4 per cent). Poor productivity is a key factor in economic growth and, while this is notoriously difficult to measure in the leisure industry, it is likely to be a continued depressor of growth.

For the year to October 2017, the CPIH (Consumer Price Inflation – including owner-occupier housing costs) recorded inflation at 2.8 per cent, while the Retail Price Index forecasts 3.6 per cent. In addition, interest rates rose from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent in November 2017 and the National Living Wage, for people over 25 years old, also increased to £7.50 per hour in April 2017. It will rise again by 4.4 per cent, to £7.83, in April 2018.

Average earnings have been lower in the public sector than in the private sector since 2015 – provisional estimates for average earnings put public pay growth at 1.8 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent in the private sector – but in September the government announced the end of the one per cent pay freeze for average public sector pay awards. This year government will consider recommendations of the Pay Review Bodies to inform pay awards.

The research was carried out independently by Myriad Research (www.myriadresearch.co.uk) using a number of data sources for analysis.

While the IOG salary survey reflects the diversity of the industry, the IOG is aiming to undertake a more in-depth analysis of pay scales in elite stadia management, to compare and contrast with global salaries for iconic sports venues. This new level of research will be part of the industry-wide research that the IOG will be undertaking this year.

For more information, visit: www.iog.org

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Hat-trick for Myerscough at IOG Awards

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Hat-trick for Myerscough at national IOG Awards: A Myerscough College learner has been honoured with a national accolade at the prestigious Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards 2017.

Tara Massey was named the Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year. 20-year-old Tara has just completed her intermediate apprenticeship with Myerscough College, working as part of the grounds team at Manchester City Football Club.

Hat-trick for Myerscough at IOG Awards

Tara was praised for “her level of understanding (that) is nothing short of astonishing. The level of knowledge answers within her portfolio of evidence is more comparable to Level 3 and 4 work, and something that should be highly commended.” She completed her Level 2 programme in record time and now is looking to start the Level 3 programme.

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards are now in their ninth year and acknowledge the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff, volunteers and professionals across all levels of sport. Myerscough was once again well represented at the awards, with sportsturf learners past and present nominated in a number of categories.

In addition to Tara, former Myerscough College learner, James Wood, was named Young Groundsman of the Year. James completed a BTEC in Sportsturf before joining Manchester City. Meanwhile, Myerscough alumni Paul Burgess, who is now the Head Groundsman at Real Madrid, was given a Special Recognition Award.

They were given their awards at the ceremony, which is part of the annual SALTEX exhibition, where almost 700 of the UK’s and Europe’s leading grounds care experts from both the professional and volunteer sector, as well as dignitaries from the governing bodies of sport and influential sports administrators, honoured the expertise, dedication and passion of the grounds profession.

Lee Price, Employer Services Manager at Myerscough College said: “This is fantastic news for the College and congratulations to Tara. The IOG Awards winners can inspire more young people to consider a career in sportsturf. It’s great to celebrate so much success in the industry.’’

Tara Massey said: “I would say to other young women interested in the industry to not be scared, do not be put off and to just go for it. It’s a great job where no two days are the same, you have to solve lots of problems but you can often quickly see the rewards for you efforts.”

“I’ve really enjoyed the college side of my apprenticeship and never realised there was so much to the job. In the future I would like to progress both in my role and in my education and take things as far as I can.”

It’s the second successive year the category of Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year has been won by a Myerscough College learner, after fellow Manchester City sportsturf apprentice, Katie Croft, won the award in 2016.

There was further recognition for Myerscough College as the award for the National Governing Bodies Professional Sports Grounds Team of the Year went to Manchester City FC. The whole of the team completed their sportsturf training with Myerscough College.

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