Sports Turf Apprentice
WCG - Warwickshire College Group
Warwickshire, Worcestershire
Closes in 27 days (Friday 22 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 24 July 2025
Contents
Summary
WCG requires a Sports Turf Apprentice to work in a mobile grounds team at our Moreton Morrell Campus and Pershore Campus to support our new sports academies and regional partners. This role will be predominantly focused on our football and rugby pitches; however, travel to our other colleges may sometimes be necessary.
- Wage
-
£16,489.20 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
- Training course
- Sports turf operative (level 2)
- Hours
-
Summer hours, April/ September (40 -42 hours dependent on age):
Mon - Thurs 7am - 4pm
Friday - 7am - 3.30pm.
Winter hours- October- March (32 hours):
Mon - Thurs- 8am - 3pm
Friday - 8am - 2.30pm (2.30 pm Fri).
30 minutes unpaid lunch.
42 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 15 September 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 9 months
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Key responsibilities:
- Pitch Maintenance - This includes tasks like mowing, aeration,
fertilising, scarifying, rolling and line marking - Grounds Preparation - Preparing pitches for matches or events,
including tasks like cutting, divotting, brushing, rolling and sanding
application - Machinery Operation - Learning to safely and effectively
operate a range of grounds maintenance machinery, such as
mowers, aerators and tractors with attachments - General Maintenance - Assisting with other grounds-related tasks
tasks like leaf collection, litter picking and minor repair - Health and Safety - Ensuring all work is carried out safely and
in accordance with relevant health and safety policies and
procedures - Following Instructions - Working under the guidance of
experienced grounds staff, following instructions and
completing tasks as directed - Learning and Development - Participating in training and
development activities to gain the necessary skills and
knowledge for the role, including working towards a Level 2
Sports Turf Operative Apprenticeship
Where you'll work
You can select which locations you want to apply for in your application on Find an apprenticeship.
This apprenticeship is available in these locations:
- Moreton Morrell College, Moreton Morrell, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV35 9BP
- Pershore College, Avonbank, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 3JP
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
Training course
Sports turf operative (level 2)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Apply the correct rates and range of materials to sports turf surfaces (e.g. grass seed, granular fertilisers, bulky top-dressing, turf and root zone).
- Set and mark out the sports turf surface in accordance with the relevant governing body rules (including line marking, the 3-4-5 squaring technique, and marking arcs and semi-circles).
- Prepare machinery and equipment to ensure their safe and effective use when carrying out sport turf tasks.
- Maintain levels of soil moisture using either irrigation or drainage systems.
- Inspect the condition of sports turf, make observations and communicate findings (e.g. PQS, weeds, pests, diseases, thatch content).
- Prepare the ground and established grass areas as part of sports turf renovation tasks (e.g. overseeding, turfing).
- Carry out cylinder mowing of sports turf surface(s) in accordance with set requirements.
- Carry out repair of sports turf surfaces using relevant equipment and machinery (e.g. divot repair, foot hole repair, animal damage).
- Prepare and safely operate a tractor and it's attachments.
- Select and use relevant communication styles (e.g. verbal, written, digital) to convey information to different audiences (e.g. clients, staff, suppliers).
- Adopts a systematic approach to troubleshooting and solving day-to-day resource or equipment issues.
- Identify a range of turf grasses (vegetative and seed). (Including, perennial ryegrass smooth stalk meadow grass, annual meadow grass, fescue grass (fine), bent grass).
- Carry out maintenance of sports turf surface using relevant equipment and machinery (including scarification, and aeration).
- Dispose of waste in a safe and sustainable manner.
- Apply the correct rates and range of materials to sports turf surfaces (e.g. grass seed, granular fertilisers, bulky top-dressing, turf and root zone).
- Set and mark out the sports turf surface in accordance with the relevant governing body rules (including line marking, the 3-4-5 squaring technique, and marking arcs and semi-circles).
- Prepare machinery and equipment to ensure their safe and effective use when carrying out sport turf tasks.
- Maintain levels of soil moisture using either irrigation or drainage systems.
- Inspect the condition of sports turf, make observations and communicate findings (e.g. PQS, weeds, pests, diseases, thatch content).
- Prepare the ground and established grass areas as part of sports turf renovation tasks (e.g. overseeding, turfing).
- Carry out cylinder mowing of sports turf surface(s) in accordance with set requirements.
- Carry out repair of sports turf surfaces using relevant equipment and machinery (e.g. divot repair, foot hole repair, animal damage).
- Prepare and safely operate a tractor and it's attachments.
- Select and use relevant communication styles (e.g. verbal, written, digital) to convey information to different audiences (e.g. clients, staff, suppliers).
- Adopts a systematic approach to troubleshooting and solving day-to-day resource or equipment issues.
- Identify a range of turf grasses (vegetative and seed). (Including, perennial ryegrass smooth stalk meadow grass, annual meadow grass, fescue grass (fine), bent grass).
- Carry out maintenance of sports turf surface using relevant equipment and machinery (including scarification, and aeration).
- Dispose of waste in a safe and sustainable manner.
Training schedule
- Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Sports Turf Operative
(Standard): - Level 2 Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours
- Training in the use of machinery and equipment required to
undertake your duties - College will be on a block release system starting from September
- Qualification achieved: L2 Sports Turf Operative
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Team working
- Physical fitness
About this employer
WCG is a leading further and higher education college group in the UK offering 500+ courses and apprenticeships to 10,000 students across six colleges – Royal Leamington Spa, Rugby, Moreton Morrell, Pershore, Evesham and Warwick Trident. WCG works in partnership with 1100+ local and national employers and trains 1,700 apprentices every year across a wide range of industries.
https://wcg.ac.uk/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
Generous annual leave entitlement plus up to 4 free College Closure days a year. Voluntary health cash plan run by Health Shield. Free on-site gyms at most colleges. Discounted courses. Cycle to work scheme Free car parking on-site.
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
For the right candidate, there is the potential for a full-time job following the completion of the apprenticeship.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
WARWICKSHIRE COLLEGE
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000333655.
Apply now
Closes in 27 days (Friday 22 August 2025 at 11:59pm)
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