Lawrence, Kansas, United States: To address the on-going labour challenges in the golf course industry, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) has established a workforce opportunities initiative to consolidate administration of its key workforce development programmes.

“Labour is the number one challenge faced by our GCSAA members and the industry overall,” said Rhett Evans, the GCSAA’s Chief Executive Officer.

“This initiative is another investment by GCSAA to further our efforts to increase our members’ skills and attract new people into the turfgrass management profession.”

As part of the initiative, long-time GCSAA team member Leann Cooper has been named Senior Manager, First Green and Workforce Development.

Cooper will develop the strategy and lead execution of the initiatives focused on enabling current members to continue to grow their careers to increase the skills available to support labour needs and increase interest in choosing turfgrass management careers.

At the centre of these efforts is the GCSAA’s First Green programme. First Green provides STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education for school-aged students through hands-on learning field trips led by GCSAA-member superintendents.

Cooper, who joined the GCSAA team in 2000, has played a key role in First Green operations since GCSAA took over the programme in 2018.

Since its inception, First Green has hosted thousands of students across North America and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Australia.

In her new role, Cooper will continue to lead the GCSAA First Green programme and add the leadership of current and new programmes focused on workforce development. 

She will also assist current GCSAA members in advancing their own careers by overseeing enhancements to career resources including GCSAA website career content, employer tool kits, résumé assistance and career pathway guidance.