Fresh Profile: Grounds Maintenance Jobs

Published on 2008-08-13

Grounds maintenance workers are the unsung heroes of the workforce. Although maintenance jobs in general often lack glamour and prestige, they are essential to the appearance and functioning of most businesses. The domain of the grounds maintenance worker is the exterior of a property. Grounds maintenance employment is focused on keeping the lawns, gardens, and even water features of residential and commercial properties neat and healthy. The maintenance work can range from mowing lawns, removing snow, fertilizing and irrigating turf, and trimming trees and hedges to eradicating lawn pests, cleaning hardscapes and waterscapes, laying sod, and stabilizing earth.

On-the-job training provides most of the job-related skills needed to perform this kind of work; minimal or no formal education is usually required. For foremen and business owners, college degrees in business management can be helpful. Grounds maintenance workers who apply pesticides, and in some cases fungicides and herbicides, are required to have certification in some states. Employers may also require a valid driver's license. A number of trade organizations exist to certify grounds maintenance workers who wish to advance their professional stature.

Employers within this field are as varied as those for all maintenance, repair, and installation jobs. Landscape contractors who own their own businesses offer jobs, as do local municipalities and school districts. Some grounds maintenance workers provide their own services on a contract basis. Given that in much of the country, grounds maintenance translates into seasonal jobs only, workers may have to find other employment when the air turns cold.

Today's grounds maintenance careers require skill with a variety of hand and power tools, knowledge of chemicals, and knowledge of different plant material. Grounds maintenance workers must be capable of performing hard physical labor for 40 or more hours per week in sometimes volatile outdoor conditions. Additionally, people who perform irrigation maintenance are aware of the challenges associated with mounting water shortages in almost every area of the U.S.

As these workers are assigned to "crews" of anywhere from 2 to 10 or more people, they should be able to communicate well. Communication is especially important for foremen and business owners, who must speak with clients and convey directions to crews. As many grounds maintenance workers may not speak English, fluency in another language is invaluable. Problem-solving skills and awareness of safe practices are also important for this line of work.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that employment opportunities within this field should grow much faster than average through the next decade. The need for legal U.S. workers will be especially great, as the green industry faces legislative headaches associated with the H-2B program that supplies foreign workers with limited work visas. Visit the career search engine at Fresho.com to find grounds maintenance jobs, or search in the "Installation, Maintenance, and Repair" category for your state.