Green keeping Opportunities Down Under

[Anthony Butler]

A friend of mine who is the former General Manager of NSW Golf Club is now working as an industry consultant for the Golf Industry in Australia and New Zealand.

He has put out a message on Linked In seeking experienced greens keeping staff for the coming Australian Summer (Oct '22-March '23) . If anyone reading this is interested or knows someone from their club who might be interested, please PM me and I will put you in touch.

[Mike_Clayton]

So many clubs down here are finding it near-impossible to find staff. I heard of an $85k assistant superintendent job advertised a couple of months ago where there wasn't a single application.

[Tim_Weiman]

So many clubs down here are finding it near-impossible to find staff. I heard of an $85k assistant superintendent job advertised a couple of months ago where there wasn't a single application.

Mike,


Can you explain a little about why finding staff is so difficult and how long this has been the case?


Thanks!

[John Emerson]

If the jobs were posted on turfnet or gcsaa job boards I think they’d be more successful with their search. One disadvantage that Americans have when job hunting internationally is knowing what kind of club they’re dealing with. Reputation, expectations, budget, culture, salary, long term goals etc. American greenskeepers typically have easy access to this type of info about various clubs around the USA. Most superintendents went to school with, worked with, or know a guy/gal who knows a guy/ gal, who they can easily reach out to to get quality info about a club. My personal network has international reach, but it is limited and it’s only expanded overseas in the past 5 years. There needs to be an international job board with more exposure. LinkedIn May not currently be sufficient to appeal to the masses of American grass growers. The industry definitely needs work in this area and international collaborations of information.

[David_Elvins]

Mike,
Can you explain a little about why finding staff is so difficult and how long this has been the case?
Thanks!



Tim,


Not sure what it is like elsewhere but the post Covid job market in Australia is pretty crazy.  Signs outside businesses everywhere looking for staff and hard to have a conversation with anyone without being offered a job.  Low immigration and lower workforce participation due to burnout the main factors I think.

[Mike_Clayton]

Dave, Tim.


And anecdotally so many stories of blokes being offered as much or more to do jobs with better hours.
In Perth they head north to work in the mines for way more money.

[Joe_Tucholski]

If the jobs were posted on turfnet or gcsaa job boards I think they’d be more successful with their search. One disadvantage that Americans have when job hunting internationally is knowing what kind of club they’re dealing with. Reputation, expectations, budget, culture, salary, long term goals etc. American greenskeepers typically have easy access to this type of info about various clubs around the USA. Most superintendents went to school with, worked with, or know a guy/gal who knows a guy/ gal, who they can easily reach out to to get quality info about a club. My personal network has international reach, but it is limited and it’s only expanded overseas in the past 5 years. There needs to be an international job board with more exposure. LinkedIn May not currently be sufficient to appeal to the masses of American grass growers. The industry definitely needs work in this area and international collaborations of information.

I looked a bit about going to Australia and New Zealand for work.  If under 31 getting a one year visa isn't all that hard, but other than that, are work visas for an American to work at a golf course a thing?  I would have thought it wouldn't be possible.

[Mike_Clayton]

Joe,


I think coming here to work is easier if it's a job no Australian can do - and if clubs can't find people to do the job then it's reasonable to argue you should be allowed in??

[John Emerson]

Mike C,
My network is nil in AU and mostly extends to European and a couple Asian countries. Would you happen to know what the average budget is in AU and what is the average pay for superintendents/course managers?

[Joe_Tucholski]

Joe,


I think coming here to work is easier if it's a job no Australian can do - and if clubs can't find people to do the job then it's reasonable to argue you should be allowed in??

I admit I'm a bit surprised as it does look like greenkeeper is on the skilled occupation list for various visas.
Skilled occupation list (homeaffairs.gov.au)

[Thomas Dai]

I may be wrong but isn’t there (or wasn’t there once) some sort of exchange scheme between GB&I BIGGA and the Aussie equivalent?
Atb

[John Kavanaugh]

Becoming an Australian citizen is much more than just learning the language.

[Mike_Clayton]

Mike C,
My network is nil in AU and mostly extends to European and a couple Asian countries. Would you happen to know what the average budget is in AU and what is the average pay for superintendents/course managers?

It obviously varies widely but a top suburban club in a capital city probably has a $1.5- 2m budget.
I've heard of supers in Sydney - the most expensive city to live - on as much as $400k. $200-250k is not far out for a top 20 course here.