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HOLLAND
COLLEGE • November 1, 2001
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By Dave Casselman The rapid growth of the golf industry created a demand for skilled technicians. A new program at the Atlantic Tourism and Hospitality Institute hopes to fill the void. “Golf has more or less taken off,” said Albert Roche, programs manager at ATHI. As golf’s popularity has grown, industry members told the college what kind of employees they need and what skills they should have. The private sector approached them because of the success of their golf management programs, said Roche. “The private sector is being a real partner in this,” he said. “That’s encouraging for us. We’ve always had great support from the private sector.” Roche is confident graduates of the new program will find work quickly. “We know there will be a lot of employment opportunities,” he said, citing the success of graduates from the existing programs, which have students working everywhere from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia. The instructors will do whatever they can to help find graduates work by providing valuable links to employers looking for people. The new program is skill-based, focusing on the technical aspects of golf course maintenance. “We’ve seperated it from the management program and given it more hands on instruction,” he said. The availability of golf courses on the Island helps make this an excellent site for such a course. Roche said students will see a variety of courses in terms of size and design. They will also get to see new courses grow. The golf academy at Brudenell will provide opportunities to practice what they are learning, although overall the academy plays a fairly minor role in the program. “For technicians, it becomes an opportunity to practice their skills,” he said, explaining students will be provided with the opportunity to solve real-world problems, including issues like course drainage. The course will involve a lot of on-site experiences supervised by course instructors. They’ll work through the winter on grounds doing pruning and other course maintenance. The course will use instructors already in place. There may be new instructors for certain parts of the course, and it’s possible the roles of part-time instructors may increase. Roche is looking at having superintendants from golf courses help out over the winter if possible. They’re also looking at potential partnerships with the departments of forestry and agriculture, because they have people in the fields of horticulture and landscape design. There are two sources of students: those looking for a new career in the industry, and those already in the industry looking to upgrade their skills. It is the only year-long course of its kind in the Maritimes. “Really, there was no place that they could get it,” he said of the training they’ll provide. He said the only other course is in New Brunswick and lasts only 10 weeks. “Ours is certainly a step above in content and duration,” he said. Roche said the course has been in development for four years, because they’ve been preparing for the industry’s expanding needs. A lot of knowledge and expertise was already in place from the existing golf programs and they’re still tailoring the program as they go. “This probably will become a two-year program,” he said, adding the decision will be based on how much they feel is compressed into the one-year program, which is really only seven months in duration. “There’s so many things we want to do.” The future of the industry looks bright, and Roche hopes their programs will be a part of that growth. “I think we’ve got something pretty good,” he said. “We want to be Atlantic Canada’s golf program. When you think of golf, you’ve got to think of us.” |
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