Landscape gardener to groundsman/groundswoman
A landscape gardener already meets 56% of what the groundsman/groundswoman role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.9/ 100
1 How much of what a groundsman/groundswoman is expected to do is already part of a landscape gardener’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 16 of its required skills as things a landscape gardener already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ecology
- environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry
- execute disease and pest control activities
- handling chemical products for soil and plants
- horticulture principles
- maintain landscape site
What stands in the way is 15 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 30 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 gardener background worth leading with.
- already held maintain landscape site handling and moving
- already held prepare the ground handling and moving
- already held principles of landscape construction engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held manage rainwater constructing
- already held manage time in landscaping management skills
- already held rainwater management engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 30 carried skills, including the 16 the groundsman/groundswoman role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 7 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 soil structure required
- still to learn turf management required
- still to learn watering principles required
- still to learn construct greens and grounds required
- still to learn maintain turf management equipment required
- still to learn maintain irrigation systems required
- still to learn maintain turf and grass required
- still to learn prepare sites for planting of grass required
- still to learn spray pesticides required
- 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 water chemistry analysis required
1 further area 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 30 skills that carry over
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry knowledge
- already held execute disease and pest control activities skill
- already held handling chemical products for soil and plants skill
- already held horticulture principles knowledge
- already held maintain landscape site skill
- 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 prepare site for construction skill
- already held prepare the ground skill
- already held principles of landscape construction knowledge
- already held transport physical resources within the work area skill
- already held use gardening equipment skill
- already held crop production principles knowledge
- already held grow plants skill
- already held manage rainwater skill
- already held manage time in landscaping skill
- already held nurse plants skill
- already held nurse trees skill
- already held plant green plants skill
- already held prepare planting area skill
- already held propagate plants skill
- already held prune hedges and trees skill
- already held prune plants skill
- already held pruning techniques knowledge
- already held pruning types knowledge
- already held rainwater management knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn operate turf management equipment required
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held implement plans for the management of sports turf areas optional
- optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held use technical documentation optional
24 held skills the groundsman/groundswoman role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role assist in interior plant projects skill
- not needed by the target role build fences skill
- not needed by the target role build garden masonry skill
- not needed by the target role create garden areas skill
- not needed by the target role de-limb trees 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 establish green roof skill
- not needed by the target role establish vertical gardens skill
- not needed by the target role herbicides sprayers 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 maintain ground skill
- not needed by the target role make decisions regarding landscaping skill
- not needed by the target role manage agricultural staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage landscape design projects skill
- not needed by the target role operate landscaping equipment skill
- not needed by the target role organic farming knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare flower arrangements skill
- not needed by the target role put up signs skill
- not needed by the target role supervise landscape projects skill
- not needed by the target role work in a landscape team skill
- not needed by the target role work in outdoor conditions skill
4 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
Common questions about this move
Can a landscape gardener become a groundsman/groundswoman?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A landscape gardener already covers 56% of what a groundsman/groundswoman is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 16 of which the groundsman/groundswoman role treats as required.
What skills does a landscape gardener need to become a groundsman/groundswoman?
15 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary. The single most important is construct greens and grounds.
How hard is the move from landscape gardener to groundsman/groundswoman?
Its learning distance is 56.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.