New colleges on the list
This article first appeared in On Course - Issue 21
The GTC has added two new colleges to its list of centres which work
with the sector and within the awarding bodies' criterion to deliver
sports turf qualifications.
Duchy College in Cornwall and
Kingston Maurward College in Dorset have been added to the list. The
GTC's Education Director, David Golding, said: "Both centres are
providing specialist turf programmes on a local basis for clubs and
greenkeeping candidates and have established industry liaison committees
to monitor the delivery.
"A major part of our work is to monitor
the quality standards of sports turf education and training in
association with the awarding bodies."
""Our team of staff are absolutely delighted that they have recently been provisionally approved as a GTC centre," said Duchy College operations manager (work based learning) Chris Shepherd.
"The status means a great deal to all training providers
and is a hard-earned and fiercely guarded prize." The college looks
after about 450 apprentices or work based learners in the land based
sector across all of the vocational areas associated with a land based
college.
"Within this number we cater for around 30 greenkeepers at any
one time across Devon and Cornwall," he said. "Our association with the
industry started in autumn 2000 and since then around 150 greenkeepers
of all ages have taken part in NVQ training programmes.
"As
relative newcomers, what has been striking is the level of support that
we have received from the industry. Many other vocational areas in the
land based sector could learn a great deal from the way in which the
greenkeeping industry has organised itself and promoted work based
learning opportunities.
"I have experienced first hand the extremely
effective case put by the GTC to Lantra when it comes to designing
apprenticeship frameworks and NVQ content. The GTC learning materials
(NVQ L2 and L3) are a superb source of information to all learning their
profession," said Chris.
"The support from the Devon and
Cornwall greenkeepers has been amazing and it feels as if we could
access both the physical and human resource across all of the clubs with
whom we work. Our regular assessor update sessions are very effective
in keeping contact with the industry and communicating with the many
qualified assessors out there.
"We look forward to developing our
partnership with the industry and value greatly the constructive advice
and guidance given so openly.""
Kingston Maurward College is a specialist
land-based college located in beautiful countryside in rural Dorset.
It, like most other land-based colleges, provides a range of educational
provision in various disciplines including turf management. The college
has long provided training opportunities through the work-based
learning route for many golf courses within the County. Staff have
worked hard with employers to develop a good reputation and were
therefore delighted recently to receive accreditation from the GTC.
Head
of horticulture, Steve Maros said: "It is a great privilege to receive
accreditation as it is the stamp of approval that providers seek and it
will help us to encourage many more youngsters into the profession.
"We are looking forward to using many of the GTC's excellent training materials in developing our work with schools. In addition, we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the GTC and the continuing development of the college as a centre of excellence for greenkeeping and turf culture.
"Our thanks also go to all the employers
who have given us their wholehearted support." The college has a dynamic
Industrial Liaison Committee which meets regularly and has a wide range
of sports turf employer representation including golf courses, council
sports playing fields and private school playing fields. It has a good
reputation for providing high quality education as was confirmed in the
recent OFSTED/ALI inspection when it was awarded grade 2s across the
board with the exception of IT which was awarded a grade 1.
