Landscape designer to groundsman/groundswoman
A landscape designer already meets 23% of what the groundsman/groundswoman role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
82.3/ 100
1 How much of what a groundsman/groundswoman is expected to do is already part of a landscape designer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the groundsman/groundswoman role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A groundsman/groundswoman role treats 8 of its required skills as things a landscape designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ecology
- horticulture principles
- perform pest control
- perform weed control operations
- pest control in plants
- plant disease control
What stands in the way is 23 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A groundsman/groundswoman role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a landscape designer background worth leading with.
- already held principles of landscape construction engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held manage rainwater constructing
- already held rainwater management engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held perform pest control assisting and caring
- already held perform weed control operations handling and moving
- already held horticulture principles agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the groundsman/groundswoman role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 39 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn maintain turf and grass required
- still to learn prepare sites for planting of grass required
- still to learn prepare the ground required
- still to learn spray pesticides required
- still to learn transport physical resources within the work area required
- still to learn use gardening equipment required
- still to learn handling chemical products for soil and plants required
- still to learn maintain landscape site required
- optional, not held grow plants optional
- optional, not held nurse plants optional
- optional, not held nurse trees optional
- optional, not held plant green plants optional
- optional, not held prepare planting area optional
- optional, not held propagate plants optional
- optional, not held prune hedges and trees optional
- optional, not held prune plants optional
- still to learn construct greens and grounds required
- still to learn maintain turf management equipment required
- still to learn prepare site for construction required
- still to learn maintain irrigation systems required
- still to learn soil structure required
- still to learn turf management required
- still to learn watering principles required
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held pruning techniques optional
- optional, not held pruning types optional
- still to learn plan sports areas required
- still to learn prepare building site required
- optional, not held implement plans for the management of sports turf areas optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- still to learn estimate consumption of water required
- still to learn monitor water quality required
- optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
- optional, not held use technical documentation optional
- still to learn execute disease and pest control activities required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a groundsman/groundswoman role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 construct greens and grounds practise this
- 02 estimate consumption of water practise this
- 03 plan sports areas practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held horticulture principles knowledge
- already held perform pest control skill
- already held perform weed control operations skill
- already held pest control in plants knowledge
- already held plant disease control knowledge
- already held plant species knowledge
- already held principles of landscape construction knowledge
- already held manage rainwater skill
- already held rainwater management knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- still to learn water chemistry analysis required
- still to learn operate turf management equipment required
- optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held implement plans for the management of sports turf areas optional
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held grow plants optional
- optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional
- optional, not held nurse plants optional
- optional, not held nurse trees optional
- optional, not held plant green plants optional
- optional, not held prepare planting area optional
- optional, not held propagate plants optional
- optional, not held prune hedges and trees optional
- optional, not held prune plants optional
- optional, not held pruning techniques optional
- optional, not held pruning types optional
- optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held use technical documentation optional
31 held skills the groundsman/groundswoman role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise supervisors skill
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role building codes knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
- not needed by the target role create landscape designs skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop architectural plans skill
- not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
- not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role green building practices knowledge
- not needed by the target role green building standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role green logistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role horticultural design knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect project regulations skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role landscape analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscape architectural instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscape architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscaping materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead hard landscape projects skill
- not needed by the target role make decisions regarding landscaping skill
- not needed by the target role make drawings skill
- not needed by the target role manage landscape design projects skill
- not needed by the target role perform studies and field investigation skill
- not needed by the target role review construction plans authorisations skill
- not needed by the target role surveying methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role topography knowledge
- not needed by the target role work independently in landscaping skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn soil structure required
- still to learn turf management required
- still to learn water chemistry analysis required
- still to learn watering principles required
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held pruning techniques optional
- optional, not held pruning types optional
Common questions about this move
Can a landscape designer become a groundsman/groundswoman?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A landscape designer already covers 23% of what a groundsman/groundswoman is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the groundsman/groundswoman role treats as required.
What skills does a landscape designer need to become a groundsman/groundswoman?
23 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is construct greens and grounds.
How hard is the move from landscape designer to groundsman/groundswoman?
Its learning distance is 82.3 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.