Wayne Grills has been CEO of BALI for 14 years. With BALI representing a membership of over 1,800 companies and individuals in the landscape sector, Grills has a deep understanding of its challenges and opportunities. He also sits on several cross-industry working groups and committees.
He will be speaking on HortWeek's Horticulture Question Time panel.
Join us on September 10 in the Landscape Zone in the HortWeek seminar area at GroundsFest at 11am.
This essential event is sponsored by Bourne Amenity and Hillier Nurseries.
You’re on the Horticulture Question Time panel at GroundsFest this year – why should visitors come along to listen?
Visitors should check out the Horticulture Question Time panel at GroundsFest as it's a great opportunity to hear what some of the industry's leading voices have to say about a range of subjects and brings it all together in one place. It's also a great opportunity to ask those burning questions that you either need help with or just want to sense check that your business isn't the only one experiencing an issue.
How long have you been at BALI and have you always been in the horticulture industry?
I have been at BALI for 14 years and no, I haven't always been in the horticulture industry. I spent my early career in hotel and catering finishing up the last 7 years in HR roles. Then went on to a number of roles in education related companies such as awarding organisations or training consultancies in a wide range of industries such as clothing and textile manufacture, gamekeeping and fish husbandry, waste management and extractives and mineral processing before ending up as MD of Lantra Awards (Awarding Organisation) for the landbased industry for five years before joining BALI.
What would you say are some of the most pressing challenges facing the landscape sector currently?
Some of the most pressing challenges for the sector as I see them would be a skills and people shortage. This is an area that BALI has a careers initiative running to help combat this, but every industry is short of people. There is no quick fix, but we are working with the educators to help improve the quality of those that have undertaken the college route to come out better skilled and to look at career changers as another great potential source of staffing for the future. In addition, we need consistency and consolidation in the education system. Businesses in our industry have had a major amount to contend with over the last five years such as Covid, Brexit, cost of living crisis, and now we have the National living wage and national insurance increases to deal with all whilst trying to provide end clients with a quality solution-based service. There are many more, but probably not enough room here! Maybe we can discuss it at the seminar panel.
Considering the current challenges within the landscape and amenity sector, how is BALI working to address these?
BALI is looking to address these and other issues by upping our lobbying activity with parliamentarians and civil servants, working more collaboratively with other industry bodies on a wide range of subjects and is specifically in increasing our people and efforts to drive GoLandscape. This BALI careers initiative works with a range of individuals in the industry, acting as ambassadors, to encourage more school leavers and college leavers to choose landscaping as a valuable career option as well as working with careers advisers to help them better understand our fantastic industry and the great opportunities it has to offer. We've ncreased our efforts on the ED&I charter to help should those from more diverse backgrounds that this industry is for them too. We have strengthened our team at BALI to help deliver on a number of fronts to support our members and the wider industry grow.
What are you most looking forward to at GroundsFest 2025?
I'm most looking forward to connecting with industry peers old and new to network, always looking for new members of course! And I am looking forward to learning even more about the industry and those companies within it, the innovation, new products and machinery/equipment. I believe that you have to come with an open mind and be willing to learn, no matter how long you have been in the industry.
