Landscapes Unlimited and Ewing Irrigation partner up for irrigation training programs

Finding and keeping good employees is consistently named as the top challenge facing the green industry today. Landscapes Unlimited, a leading golf course construction, development, management and maintenance company, is doing their part to address this problem by investing in training and employee development.

The company recently partnered with Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply to host an in-depth irrigation training event. In May and June, Landscapes Unlimited and Ewing’s education team traveled the country to host three two-day education workshops in Ft. Myers, Fla.; Lincoln, Neb. (where Landscapes Unlimited is based) and Chandler, Ariz., providing 32 Landscapes Unlimited employees with an irrigation boot camp.

The courses covered technical golf course irrigation, on-the-job safety and a brief history of Landscapes Unlimited.

Ewing educator Raul Gonzalez presents an irrigation basics course to Landscapes Unlimited employees. (Photo: Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply)

“With education and training, we’ve seen a reduced learning curve for employees, resulting in higher engagement, better retention and the ability to continue to provide superior quality to our clients,” said Cesar Martinez, Landscapes Unlimited senior programs manager.

While this was the first irrigation training Landscapes Unlimited and Ewing have partnered on, Landscapes Unlimited also offers a number of development programs for employees, including leadership, professional development, estimating and scheduling, coaching and time management, communication, relationship building and individual development planning. The company also has staff members dedicated to employee training.

Landscapes Unlimited’s Emerging Leaders program identifies employees with potential to grow into management roles within the company and provides training and support to better foster that employee’s growth.

With programs like Emerging Leaders and technical job training, such as Ewing’s irrigation basics course, Martinez said they’ve already seen positive results.

Henry Ayala, a 21-year-old Landscapes Unlimited employee, attended the irrigation courses provided by Ewing in Chandler, Ariz.

“It helped give me a greater understanding of my job,” Ayala said. “I liked the hands-on portion. It gave me a glimpse of what I’ll be doing in a day.”

The hands-on portion of the training sessions allowed class attendees to practice some of the technical irrigation work they’ll be doing in the field, ask questions and test out the knowledge they gained in the classroom.

“This commitment to training and education helps the employee quickly identify how they can help make a contribution,” explained Ewing educator Raul Gonzalez. “It also helps them to be identified and recognized by their organizations in order to be better compensated and see a possible career path for themselves.”

Not only does training develop more skilled, dedicated employees, it also helps with employee recruitment, said Martinez of Landscapes Unlimited.

“When we’re recruiting, one of the things we promote with potential employees is that we offer a lot of development and training opportunities,” he said. “It demonstrates our commitment to employees and their continued growth and success. The more successful the employees are, the more successful the company is as a whole.”

For more information on Ewing’s irrigation training, visit EwingEducationServices.com.