To work as an adventure activity instructor, like any job, qualifications will serve you well. For many of the more popular outdoor activities, there are some excellent courses, and nationally recognised awards that will look great on your CV. Some companies, especially those offering multi activity outdoor pursuits, may help you obtain National Governing Body (NGB) awards while you train. While other jobs may have these awards as minimum qualifications before they will even offer you an interview. And some courses will just make you stand out from the crowd when it comes to sending job applications.
Activity instructor training courses equip you with the skills and experience to enter the workplace as a qualified activity instructor. Gain NGB awards and professional tuition on the following courses.
Activity Instructor Courses
To work in watersports you need to get qualified. The following watersport centres offer a range of professional training courses covering many types of water sports from the RYA and BCU.
Watersports Courses
Gain qualifications in climbing and mountain leadership that will enable you to teach the fundamental skills in climbing and mountaineering.
Climbing and Mountaineering
Mountain Bike leader courses are available in a few different flavours. Find out more about how you can get involved and which course would suit you best.
Mountain Biking
Our guide to useful awards and qualifications is a good place to start and will help you decide which course(s) will be most useful if you are just getting started. You can also take a look at our career guides, which discuss which training qualification to aim for. We have detailed guides for paddlesports, climbing, watersports, and multi activities.
In an effort to find out more about why people choose to take the rock climbing courses that allow you to introduce other people to the sport, namely the Climbing Wall Award (CWA), and the Single Pitch Award (SPA), we spoke to a couple of professionals who have achieved these NGBs and who are now aiming to progress their climbing careers. Click through to read about how these industry standard qualifications allow you to supervise other climbers, and tips for passing the exam.
You probably went on a residential activity holiday when you were at school; most children do. Getting a job as one of those idolised instructors is actually easier than you may think. Hundreds of thousands of school kids every year means lots of centres and each one requires plenty of instructors. For young people, the wages are pretty good considering the alternatives, and when you factor in the training, experience and qualifications you can achieve in a single season... So how do you get involved? We discuss the different options for starting out, and offer some valuable inside tips on passing a selection weekend.
In the latest of our career guides, we take a detailed look at rock climbing, hill walking and mountaineering. Although it is quite possible to teach climbing without any recognised qualifications, with some aspirational and high quality courses on offer, it is no surprise that if you do want to get anywhere, most companies will insist you take part in the Mountain Training scheme. Whether you stick with the entry level Single Pitch and Climbing Wall awards, or take it all the way to the Mountaineering Instructor Certificate is up to you. This article will tell you all about training courses and the types of jobs they could lead to.
