Qualified

This term can have several interpretations, although from a groundskeeping perspective there are three significant ones.

1. From an educational perspective it means someone has achieved a certain minimum standard following a period of study. Typically, this might be a long period of study (for example over 9-months) but it could just as easily mean following a short period of study on a specific piece of equipment, such as in using an item of machinery (for example over one or two days), when they may achieve a certificate of competence to show they are qualified to use that item of equipment in a safe, efficient and effective way.

2. If someone has considerable experience of something (maybe a product or process), researched or studied something in depth, but does not have a formal educational certificate (although they also might have), then they can often be considered to be qualified to comment on the relevant subject matter.

3. Qualified can also mean clarification of something when describing or explaining it. For example, ‘The use of this product was further qualified by emphasising that it is not recommended to be used during warm, dry periods, typically late May through to early August in the South of England.’