Sports Turf Operative

On a sports turf operative apprenticeship course, you’ll help upkeep and improve sports surfaces so that public and private sports facilities may be utilised.

A sports turf operative, also known as a groundsperson or grounds maintenance operative, oversees public and private sports facilities.

As a sports turf operative, you will be responsible for the maintenance, restoration, and overall appearance of one or more sports turf surfaces following the needs of the particular sport. 

In addition, your duty will be to maintain an appropriate playing surface that reflects the surface’s purpose.

You may work in several sports and settings, such as athletics, bowls, cricket, croquet, football, hockey, horse racing, rugby league and union, and tennis, and settings ranging from simple park-type sports fields to world-class stadiums.

What you’ll learn

On a sports turf operative apprenticeship course, you’ll learn to:

• Maintain and repair grass surfaces safely and appropriately. This will include the safe use of a range of tools and equipment, including mowers, scarifiers, aerators, and other specialised lawn care equipment, as well as hand tools, ride-on, and tractor-mounted implements.
• Calibrate equipment for material requirements and apply a range of goods at the appropriate rates, including grass seed, fertiliser, and heavy top-dressing.
• Use combined preventative and management methods to reduce the incidence of diseases, problems, pests, and weeds on grass.
• Set up and mark off sports zones following the Governing Bodies of Sport rules.
• Maintain and renovate tools, equipment, and machinery to ensure their safe and effective use.
• Maintain and repair basic drainage and irrigation systems regularly.
• Communicate well with others and offer excellent customer service
• Work safely, efficiently, and effectively, whether under supervision, as an individual, or as part of a team.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

• GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
• Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this before taking the end-point assessment.

Assessment methods

The End Point Assessment comprises two components:

• One multiple choice paper will be of 60 minutes and consist of 15 questions, each with four options (3 distractors) and 15 with six options (5 distractors). 
• One written answer paper will be of 90 minutes and will consist of 15 questions. 

Duration, level, subjects and potential salary upon completion

Apprenticeship standard

More information about the Level 2 Sports Turf Operative Apprenticeship standard can be found here.

Apprenticeship end point assessment

For more information about the End Point Assessment Process, please read the Institute of Apprenticeships’ information page.