Last November, Reach Outdoors' 16-week Instructor Training Programme started and since finishing the course, some of our trainees joined our team as a Seasonal Instructor in April 2022. Here are a few words from one of them about the experience and how their  first season as an Outdoor Instructor is going.

I am part way through my first season as an outdoor activity instructor at Reach Outdoors. Days in this job are varied – in one week I might be hiking on Dartmoor, kayaking on the sea, working with kids in alternative provision and taking tourists out on a paddleboarding tour of the local coastline. A year ago, my life was pretty different! 

I was living in South London and working in data and analytics. While I loved living in the city, and met some great people working in technology, I had never quite found the right role and was always craving a more active and outdoor lifestyle.  

After a couple of years of pondering a move to the outdoor industry, in October 2021 I finally took the plunge and started the 16 week Outdoor Instructor Training Course at Reach Outdoors. 

Why Reach Outdoors?

I originally chose to do my outdoor instructor training at Reach Outdoors out of convenience of location and breadth of qualifications. But having finished the course, I think the best thing about it was that it is that gives trainees the opportunity to train for, consolidate for and be assessed in three leadership qualifications in 16 weeks.  Having started the course as a novice paddler and a complete beginner at climbing, I now hold the BCU Paddlesport Leader Qualification, Mountain Training Climbing Wall Instructor Qualification and the Mountain Training Lowland Leader qualification, giving me the skills and credentials to take groups out on the water, the climbing wall and in lowland terrain. 

The other main draw of Reach Outdoors was the small class sizes. Having so few of us on the course meant that we were made to feel a part of the team and spending so much time with more experienced instructors meant we had ample opportunity to absorb as much information about the industry as we could.

Life on the Course

From the get-go, myself and the other trainee instructors were made to feel part of the team at Reach. We spent the first couple of weeks on experience based sessions where we got to try for ourselves the activities Reach offers, and develop our personal skills without any pressure of formal training and assessment. This was a good opportunity to get comfortable in the various activities before learning about leadership and group management.  

After a relatively relaxed settling in period, things ramped up a bit as we started learning more about the leadership aspects of the different sports and got started logging days toward our assessments. The course was quite intense physically but the instructors were always willing to make amendments to the sessions if we were feeling particularly tired.

Toward the end of the course, we were busy with preparing for our assessments but we also had the opportunity to deliver our own sessions to local primary schools and evening climbing clubs. This experience was really valuable in terms of getting us comfortable in front of groups and left me feeling much more prepared for going straight into a busy summer season at Reach. 

Would I recommend Reach Outdoors?

Like many, covid gave me a bit of breathing space to reconsider things. With the fun parts of London and work in the city stripped back, I realised that I had little time to do the things I really loved. After a couple of years of to and froing between – ‘stuff it I’m going to do it’, and ‘but it would be more sensible to stay in London’, I finally took the plunge and moved to South Devon to start the Outdoor instructor course at Reach Outdoors. 

Before starting the course, I enjoyed running, cycling and swimming but I had minimal experience in kayaking, paddleboarding and climbing. By the end of the course I had achieved three leadership qualifications and numerous personal awards. I had experienced sea kayaking in force 4 winds and 1m swell, learned to lead climb and roll a kayak. It's been a really positive decision for me and I would highly recommend the course to anyone considering a move to the outdoor industry.

For more information on our instructor training programme, visit our webpage here. We have our final OPEN DAY of the year on Saturday 10th September. Email us on info@reach-outdoors.com to book your space!