Good things come to those who wait.
Five years ago, members of the New York State Turfgrass Association recognized the need to address the labor issue affecting the turf industry.
On May 9, the New York Department of Labor approved NYSTA's Registered Apprenticeship Program that is designed to help train future groundskeepers and equipment technicians for the golf and sports turf industries in New York.
The program helps create a career path through a combination of 4,000 hours of paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction that includes 20 hours of credit toward an associate's degree in turf management from SUNY-Delhi.
The program was developed through a partnership between NYSTA and consultant Tyler Bloom, who has served as program administrator.
"In 2018, the board decided to create a strategic plan," said Dom Morales, a NYSTA board member who retired from SUNY-Delhi in 2012. "We had a lot of different areas we were focusing on. Career awareness and enhancement was my area.
"We started to reach out to high schools that taught agriculture or had FFA programs, and we would bring in superintendents to talk on career days."
At that time, Bloom was still a superintendent at Sparrows Point Country Club in Maryland, and had been recruiting talent from non-traditional sources, like high schools.
"We heard the complaints from our members," Morales said. "For every intern candidate there were eight to 10 openings. We couldn't fill them all. University turf schools once were accused of flooding the market with assistant candidates. Now, there is a drought of good, qualified people."
It's a new way of educating turf professionals and getting them into the field with the knowledge to move up. We hope that employers see it as having someone on their crew who has potential, but can't go back to college. I think it's a win-win.
After a couple of years of working with the New York Department of Labor, certification of the program had stalled, and it was clear to Morales that he needed help. Bloom, who struck out and started his own consulting firm in 2020, was a natural fit to help NYSTA meet the needs of its members throughout New York.
"He had just started his consulting business, but he had been doing the same thing as a superintendent in Maryland. We clicked. We developed a really good relationship," Morales said.
"I convinced the board to bring him on as a consultant. Then we started working with the DOL on Zoom calls and it all started to break through. Tyler is the man. Without him, we couldn't have done this."
Bloom defers credit to Morales, who spent 38 years as an educator at SUNY-Delhi before retiring and taking a position in the sports turf industry.
"Dominic is the driving force," Bloom said.
"It's such a good thing, and (I'm) really proud to see it coming to fruition. It was a challenge working with NYDOL, but persistence paid off."
Aside from 4,000 hours of on-the-job training as a paid intern, graduates of the program will be halfway to an associate's degree from SUNY-Delhi.
The Department of Labor eventually was so impressed with the program and its ability to provide applicants with a pathway to a career that those employing participants are eligible for a tax credit of $6,000 per hire.
"Approval from the DOL gives the program credibility," Morales said. "There is on-the-job training and related instruction, and everything is documented. Graduates get a certificate that proves they have these skills.
"It's a new way of educating turf professionals and getting them into the field with the knowledge to move up. We hope that employers see it as having someone on their crew who has potential, but can't go back to college. I think it's a win-win."