IOG Qualifications

The IOG (Institute of Groundsmanship) introduced formal qualifications in the 1950s and these were developed so that throughout the 1970s to the very early 2000s a comprehensive suite of qualifications was available to individuals in the grounds care industry.

With the introduction of the NQF (National Qualifications Framework) in 2001, the demise of the IOG qualifications had been apparent for a few years prior to this date. The reason for the demise was that only qualifications which were on the Government’s regulated qualifications framework (the NQF) would attract public funds. With the IOG qualifications being a niche market the number of entrants per year was extremely small and not something which a regulated awarding organisation, who managed and submitted qualifications for approval to the NQF, would be able to justify in supporting as a business model as this was quite a costly exercise. Colleges would only offer qualifications which where regulated and attracted funding so the last achievements for the IOG qualifications dwindled significantly after this time, with them ceasing with the last completers in the early 2000s.

The qualifications that were offered by the IOG gained respect within the industry as being fit for purpose and a good measure of an individual’s capability. These were the:

• National Practical Certificate (NPC); with the full title being National Practical Certificate in the Science and Practice of Turfculture and Sportsground Management.
• National Technical Certificate (NTC); with the full title being National Technical Certificate in the Science and Practice of Turfculture and Sportsground Management.
• National Intermediate Diploma in Turfculture (NID); with the full title being National Diploma (Intermediate) in the Science and Practice of Turfculture and Sportsground Management.
• National Diploma in Turfculture (NDT); with the full title being National Diploma in the Science and Practice of Turfculture and Sportsground Management.

(For further information on each of these qualifications, refer to the relevant acronym in this guide).

If these qualifications had been submitted to the NQF, then the most likely levels to which they would have been allocated is Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. It should be remembered that during the early 2000s the NQF consisted of 6 Levels (from Entry Level to Level 5). Level 5 was the top-level equating to a Master’s or Doctorate in the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, whilst NQF Level 4 covered a broad spectrum from Honours degree, to Foundation degree equivalent and to Certificates of higher education, so there was quite a range within the former NQF Level 4 banding. Whilst the NDT would sit within this banding, the learning time requirement and assessment requirements could not realistically justify a comparison with a degree, but certainly a qualification below that standard. When the NQF was revised to 9 Levels, in 2006, then the NDT would have more reasonably been allocated to mostly Level 5, depending on the syllabus content, whilst a degree was then allocated to Level 6.

With the changing funding requirements of regulated qualifications, especially for adults, who were essentially excluded from receiving funding for vocational qualifications, the potential for offering reformed IOG qualifications was foreseen by the Head of Education at the time (Chris Gray), with new and updated qualification specifications being written by him alone and which aligned the learning outcomes and assessment criteria to those of the level descriptors used in regulated qualifications. The qualification specifications have stood the test of time and had not been changed until at least 2024 when Chris Gray left the GMA. New learning content was also written by him for the new suite of qualifications and these became available to candidates during the following dates:
• Level 2 Technical Certificate in Turf Surface Maintenance: 2014. (This was an updated version of the NTC, but without practical elements).
• Level 3 Technical Diploma in Turf Surface Management: 2015. (This was an updated version of the NID, but without practical elements).
• Level 3 Certificate in Supervisory Management: 2017.
• Level 4 Certificate in Sustainable Turf Management: 2015.
• Level 4 Professional Certificate in Turf Surface Management: 2015. (This was an updated version of the NDT, first half, but without practical elements).
• Level 5 Professional Diploma in Turf Surface Management: 2018. (This was an updated version of the NDT, second half, but without practical elements).
• Level 6 Certificate in Turf Surface Consulting: 2015.

The primary reason why practical elements were dropped from the reformed IOG Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications was that comparable City & Guilds qualifications at Levels 2 and 3 had a combination of theory and practical, so to offer a distinct difference the focus was on purely knowledge-based qualifications. The reformed NDT was split into two years to encourage candidates to attempt the equivalent of year 1 of the former NDT and if successful they would achieve a full qualification for their efforts (unlike previously) and ideally progress onto the equivalent of year 2 of the course. Practical-Oral requirements were removed due to the expense of supporting this type of assessment, especially considering there would probably have been limited numbers enrolling on the higher qualifications.

Since 2020 when the IOG was renamed the Grounds Management Association (GMA) these qualifications have been known as GMA qualifications.