Bolstered by the success of last year’s #GroundsWeek campaign – the GMA’s annual awareness week that celebrates the vital role grounds staff and volunteers play in making sport possible – this year’s campaign, from 28 Feb to 6 March, will encourage more people to work or volunteer
Last year’s #GroundsWeek campaign reached more than 135 million people, secured support from 1,193 organisations and individuals across sport and generated more than 3,000 mentions on social media. Many messages were also shared beyond our industry - allowing more people to better understand what a job in grounds management entails.
This year, we’re planning to widen our reach and showcase potential career opportunities to encourage more people to work or take a volunteering role within the sector.
The UK’s ‘Great Resignation’ has seen many individuals quit their jobs, re-consider their priorities and seek different career opportunities. We want to use #GroundsWeek to highlight the personal and professional benefits that a role in grounds management can offer - from a volunteering, job change, or career pathway prospective.
Working within the grounds management sector offers great work/life benefits, however many job seekers are unaware that these roles exist. We want to shine a spotlight on the unique work aspects within this sector, which include working in an outdoor environment and delivering safe sports surfaces for local communities and elite sport performance. By raising awareness, we want to encourage more people to seek work within or industry, enjoy its job satisfaction and develop the deep passion for achieving the sports turf excellence that drives our industry forward.
This year, we’re particularly reaching out to young people. We will be ramping up our ‘Schools into Stadia’ workshop initiative and have recently launched a GMA educational toolkit, which introduces school children to grounds management techniques - in an aim to reach more young people than ever before.
Ultimately, we want to continue to raise the nation’s awareness of grounds management, celebrate its vital importance within sport, and encourage those with ‘career curiosity’ to take their first steps into pursuing a rewarding role within our sector.
We’d like you to join us by getting involved in any way you can. Look out for the #GroundsWeek hashtag, follow GMA on Twitter, or get in touch to share your story with us.
How to get involved
This year, we’re asking you to share details on the rewarding aspect of your job and why others should consider it. You can write a blog, share a photo, or upload a video, tagging the GMA. Make sure you use the #GroundsWeek hashtag.
For more information, visit: https://www.thegma.org.uk/groundsweek
Make sure you’re following us on social media for all the latest GMA updates on #GroundsWeek. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Sign up for more information on #GroundsWeek and GMA activity by clicking here