Outdoor instructor training
Ever wanted a career in the outdoors?
Begin your journey today with Original Wild!
- AWARD-WINNING ADVENTURE COMPANY
- LEARN TO PADDLE, CLIMB, NAVIGATE, LEAD, RESCUE AND MORE!
- 18 WEEKS // NOVEMBER - MARCH // MONDAY - THURSDAY
- BESPOKE DEVELOPMENT - ONLY 6 SPACES PER COURSE
No experience necessary!
Our training is unique; whereas most courses are full-time, and can be fully-knackering(!), ours runs 4 days a week. This allows you to rest, work, or study in your spare time alongside training for your brand new career in the outdoors.
A maximum of 6 trainees per course gives you more 1 to 1 time with our trainers and helps them give you a much more bespoke, supported experience. We can tailor each module to suit your learning style and adapt training as and when necessary.
Why Original Wild?
Our course includes:
PADDLE
- British Canoeing Discover Award
- British Canoeing Explore Award
- British Canoeing Paddlesport Instructor
- Foundation Safety & Rescue Training
- Learn to roll a kayak with swimming pool sessions
- Raft building training
WALK
- Mountain Training Lowland Leader Assessment
- Mountain Training Mountain Leader Training
- DofE Expedition Assessor & Supervisor
- National Navigation Award Scheme Silver
- Wild camping experience
CLIMB
- Rock Climbing Instructor Training
ESSENTIAL
- Outdoor First Aid at Work
- Child Safeguarding training
- Leave No Trace awareness training
- Experience working with real customers
- Teambuilding and feedback experience
- Group management experience
PLUS:
- Scotland adventure trip! (location TBC)
ADD-ONS (not included in course cost):
- Rock Climbing Instructor Assessment
- Mountain Training Mountain Leader Assessment
- Equipment Package (subsidised via trade)
- Accommodation arrangement
and.. memories that will last a lifetime!
Already trained but looking for assessment? Let us know!
Overview
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Pay in full or 3 separate payments
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Award-winning adventure company
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18 weeks, November to March, Monday to Thursday, Christmas and February breaks
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Great support with only 6 trainees per course
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No experience necessary
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Experience and qualifications to kick-start your career as an outdoor instructor
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Based in Bath with travel to multiple UK national parks
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Gain experience with real customers on sessions
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Learn to paddle, climb, navigate, lead, rescue and more!
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Indoor and outdoor learning
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Access to equipment during the course
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Guaranteed post-course interview
Book now
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What's Included?
Following a successful 18-week training course, you can expect to gain the following qualifications:
PADDLE
- British Canoeing Discover Award
- British Canoeing Explore Award
- British Canoeing Paddlesport Instructor
- Foundation Safety & Rescue Training
- Learn to roll a kayak with swimming pool sessions
- Raft building training
WALK
- Mountain Training Lowland Leader Assessment
- Mountain Training Mountain Leader Training
- DofE Expedition Assessor & Supervisor
- National Navigation Award Scheme Silver
- Wild camping experience
CLIMB
- Rock Climbing Instructor Training
ESSENTIAL
- Outdoor First Aid at Work
- Child Safeguarding training
- Leave No Trace awareness training
- Experience working with real customers
- Teambuilding and feedback experience
- Group management and feedback experience
ADD-ONS (not included in course cost):
- Climbing Wall Instructor Assessment
- Rock Climbing Instructor Assessment
- Mountain Training Mountain Leader Assessment
- Equipment Package (subsidised via trade)
- Accommodation arrangement
During your outdoor instructor training course, you’re not just collecting qualifications. Although these are obviously fairly important towards a life of epic adventure, there’s much more to it than just that! We can work with you to learn and improve these skills:
- Paddling a variety of craft
- Climbing ability
- Navigation in the hills
- First aid capacity
- Group management and feedback
- Confidence in front of groups
- Remaining calm under pressure
- Resilience through adventure
- Session planning
- Equipment care
- Overall fitness
During your course our instructors will be taking you across the country to experience the best that the UK has to offer.
There will be a mixture of day and multi-day trips. Travel and accommodation when outside of Bath will be provided and organised by Original Wild at no extra cost.
The UK is home to some incredible landscapes which we will be exploring during your time on the course.
From the rolling hills around Bath, to the mountains and hills of Wales, to the climbing slabs in the Peak District; nothing is off limits and we will center our learning around the objectives and correct environment for the weather conditions on the day / trip.
To operate safely and comfortably in the outdoors it is crucial to invest wisely in your kit. We understand that outdoor equipment can be expensive and, as such, we have designed our instructor training to keep your pre-course kit costs as low as possible.
We keep things simple so that you don’t have to fork out your hard-earned cash on equipment you may not necessarily need.
We’ve put together the following list of items that you’ll need to keep you comfortable, warm and safe during your time with us. These can all be purchased through Original Wild at trade price.
- Drysuit
- Paddlesport Gloves
- Paddlesport Boots
- Climbing Shoes
- Chalk Bag
- Walking Boots
- Day pack
- Waterproof Jacket
- Waterproof Trousers
- Base/Mid Layer
- Compass
- Warm hat
- Head Torch
All other equipment for paddling, climbing and hill walking activities will be provided by Original Wild during the course.
We like to think that on top of learning a whole host of new skills for your next adventure in life, you will have also made some pretty cool friends along the way!
To enhance your learning, Original Wild will treat you to the best that Scotland has to offer on our adventurous Highland Expedition trip. Travel and accommodation will be included in the cost of the course with location to be discussed and confirmed during the course.
(Location TBC)
It would be a shame to gain all those qualifications and not know what to do next! Well, we’ve taken the pressure off slightly and guaranteed you an interview for work with Original Wild following successful completion of your outdoor instructor training course.
This could be in a few different capacities including seasonal, permanent and ad-hoc freelance work.
We also have links to lots of other outdoor companies to give you more options following the course.
FAQ's
We understand that investment in your future can have a stretch on your finances. Payment can be made either in full or split over three separate payments. Your first payment will be required before the course starts and will act as a deposit to secure your place. The second payment will be at the end of November and the third at the end of January. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about payment options.
As spaces are limited to 6, we suggest reaching out as soon as possible if you think this may be something you wish to explore. After a brief chat with our team, we can organise payment and send out confirmation of your place. Starting dates and further details will be confirmed upon receipt of payment.
The course runs Monday to Thursday from November to March.
All accommodation for overnight trips during your training is included in the cost of the course and is organised by Original Wild. If you are not local to Bath and require accommodation for the day-to-day learning, this is something we can definitely help with! We know many of the local accommodation providers and we will be happy to enquire on your behalf. If you would like to add full accommodation to the cost of your course then this can be arranged as a bolt-on. Please get in touch to discuss.
Due to the wide variety or personal food preferences we do not provide food in the price of the course. Whilst away on trips you can stock up on food in supermarkets, or eat out if you prefer (when a pub is in walking distance!).
All day-to-day training will be provided by the Original Wild staff team. You will be exposed to multiple disciplines across a multitude of landscapes with each staff member.
We know time is valuable and we encourage you to make the most of yours during your time with us. Our highly-qualified and friendly team have many years of experience working across a number of activity settings so we encourage you to ask as many questions as you can!
Our course has been developed and designed to be suitable for all levels of adventurers. Previous experience is not required, however it is recommended that you have a passion for being and working outdoors!
We require all trainees to be 18 years or above to book onto our course.
In short; your options are infinite! It is commonplace for outdoor instructors to travel the world and chase the endless summer between hemispheres. You could work a summer season in the UK before heading towards Australia or New Zealand to do it all again over there!
Our post-course interview guarantee also gives you the chance to become an instructor with us right here in Bath. We’re always looking for the right kind of people and we guarantee to seriously consider your place within Original Wild upon successful completion.
We can’t say for certain what’s the right choice for you. We *can* say, however, that if you enjoy being outdoors, if you like the idea of seeking adventure, if you feel a sense of achievement after helping people, if you’re bored of heading into an artificially lit office every day; then becoming an outdoor instructor could be just the thing you’re looking for!
Yes! We have hand-picked our training and qualifications to give you the absolute best chance of finding work after your course. As an outdoor adventure provider, we know exactly what we look for in new instructors.
The combination of paddlesports, climbing and hill walking is almost the holy trinity of outdoor instructing! This will allow you to work year-round across a variety of disciplines and in a variety of awesome landscapes.
Our course will give you a great foundation to springboard your career from as an outdoor instructor. Aside from potential roles within Original Wild, we have numerous contacts in the industry throughout the UK and can help guide you in the right direction.
Roles following on from this course can be found as part-time, seasonal, full-time, and freelance outdoor instructors.
If you join the course with existing experience in a certain discipline, we can help you bolster your skill set by adding on additional qualifications. This will be discussed with the team before your course starts.
