Page 11 - GM Spring 2023

The first group of Canadian recruits arrived in The interns join in on the turf Australia in October 2022 for the exchange team meeting at Marine Drive
program.
Golf Club.
Calderwood says he is optimistic this will pivot in the not-so-distant future, especially since Canada remains as popular and sought-after as an immigration destination as any in the world. Indeed, 23 percent of people counted during the 2021 Census are immigrants to Canada and the 2021 US News & World Report, in partnership with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, called Canada the top country in the world. The federal government has stated it hopes to bring in 1.5 million immigrants between 2022 and 2025 to help fill the labour gap that will exist with Baby Boomers exiting the workforce.
“For those interested in the turf industry... it’s actually a great job,” says Calderwood. “It’s easy for us to say it’s kind of a ‘dirty’ job, but within the industry it’s actually a very good job in so many ways. It’s an enjoyable atmosphere, it’s environmentally friendly. You’re outdoors, surrounded by nature. It’s one of the nicer ways to carve out a career in agronomy.”
2. INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
One trio of golf courses that’s trying to encourage younger folks to consider – and stay in – the turfgrass space is the team at Point Grey Golf and Country Club, Marine Drive Golf Club, and Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club. The clubs, all on Marine Drive in Vancouver, began a three-way internship to introduce that area of Canada to prospective graduates of the two turf management post-secondary programs in Canada – at Guelph University and Olds College. The busiest internship schedule was in 2021 when they welcomed six to their courses (two at a time at each course and for roughly six weeks).
The program is spearheaded by Point Grey’s Sean Leach, who said the idea is to help prospects get a first-hand look at some of Canada’s top private clubs – which are mere minutes from each other. There’s no other program like it in Canada.
“It’s going to continue to evolve on a year-by-year basis,” says Leach. “It’s a way to bring students out this way and really introduce this area of golf to a lot of prospective graduates.”
Programs that allow for turf staffers to see the world may not be something that all courses or employers can take advantage of as suggested opportunities, so what currently exists out there? What could you do, heading into the 2023 golf season, to move turf staff and their needs to the top of the agenda?
Kathryn Wood, the COO of the CGSA, says not 100 percent of the respondents to a recent industry- wide survey said staffing for the turf team was an issue. Make no mistake: it’s important and there are signs that labour solutions are going to be needed across the board sooner rather than later. But there are plenty of best practices existing now that could be leaned on better – or just some more outside-the-box thinking.
“It’s true that with any industry, you’re seeing a labour shortage and you definitely can’t do what you’ve always done. Because it’s not working,” says Wood. “It’s a bit of a mind-shift that needs to happen to employ the same number of people in turf as before.”
You can read more about the program in Sean’s article on page 20.
3. UNIQUE RECRUITMENT AND WORK PERKS
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