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INTERVIEW
On another level
More advice on continued training and development
Dan Prest talks to Ampleforth Abbey & College’s Colin Ball, the first person to obtain the IOG Level 3 Technical Diploma in Turf Surface Management Colin Ball (right) with Dan Prest
By Dan Prest IOG head of member services
How did you get started? When I left school, I took up an engineering apprenticeship and became a time-served machinist and fitter, but the company went into receivership. I then took a job on a farm and spent the next 20 years gaining experience in all aspects of the industry. However, the hours were long and I needed a change. How have you found your time working at Ampleforth? I will have been at Ampleforth for five years in September and I’ve loved every day so far. There’s a great team here, and there’s plenty of support from the management. How much value do you think colleges and schools put on qualifications for sports turf versus that of grounds and stadia? Qualifications are highly recognised within the school/college sector, although budgets are smaller. With science and technology constantly changing the way things are done, being qualified and continual training are essential to further progression. How did you find the online learning experience? For years I’ve been saying to myself I should make the time to gain a qualification in something I love, but the thought of having to take time out from work or having to travel to my nearest college always seemed to put the idea on the back burner. Being able to study online made everything so simple.
“Being qualified and continual training are essential to progression in the industry” KEEP IN TOUCH
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50 THE GROUNDSMAN July 2017
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You produced some excellent work for your qualification. What are you future plans? To keep doing what I’m doing, gaining experience within the industry and putting what I have learned from my course into practice, and using this knowledge to refine the way we do things. And I will definitely be looking into the possibility of a Level 4 qualification. Finally, what equipment do you use? With the college having quite a variety of artificial and turf surfaces, we have quite an extensive fleet of equipment. In the last six months we’ve purchased another Dennis FT510, a wicket cutter/ Verticutter – a fantastic machine, so simple to maintain and use; and we’ve just added a Kubota L4240 tractor as a multi-purpose all-rounder (a light and very manoeuvrable machine). We’re also awaiting delivery of a new Dennis G8660 square cutter, as we’ve sadly had to put our 35-year-old mower into permanent retirement.
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Institute of Groundsmanship
Find out more about Level 3 training courses at www.iog.org/learning twitter.com/the_iog