UKC

Arethusa Venture Centre - Kent
Trainee Instructor

Salary: £ 3676.40 (per annum)
Accommodation, food and uniform is provided.

42 hours a week (You will receive 25 annual days leave plus 8 bank holidays)

Arethusa Venture Centre is seeking to recruit 8 (male and female) motivated and enthusiastic individuals wanting to start their career in the outdoor industry.
The Arethusa centre is based in Upnor Kent. We are a residential centre that provides a wide range of outdoor experiences for schools/youth groups of all ages and abilities. Our site includes river access, a waters sports centre, a climbing centre and our Beacon Hill campsite.
We are looking for people who are 18+ and are passionate about outdoor adventure sports and working with people of different ages and abilities. No previous experience is needed, as all NGB training will be given over a 15 month contract.
We are very keen and interested to work with anyone who has the following skill set.

• Able to fully commit to a 15 month training program (Jan 2015- March 2016)
• Hard working, pro-active and enthusiastic
• Very good communication skills both verbal and written
• A want and need to learn new skills
• Can work as part of a team and on your own initiative
• Can swim / confident in water
In return we are offering

• Food and Live in accommodation
• Uniform
• Trips away
• NGB’s – recognised outdoor instructor qualifications
• A monthly trainee wage
• Experience of working with a qualified and passionate staff team

Interviews will be held on one of the following dates the 12th-13th-14th November 2014.
For further information please contact Karin Boulden HR Manager karinboulden@shaftesbury.org.uk Direct no: 0208 875 2375
Or visit our website: http://www.shaftesbury.org.uk/working-with-us

Closing Date: Friday 31st October 2014

In reply to Boulden:

25 years ago I began work as a trainee (in the building industry), the pay was £3650 pa with all the training and day release included.
You'll no doubt have many excellent applicants, every one of them will be worth more than £1.70 p/h.
How can you do it?

In reply to Boulden:

Accommodation and all expenses are worth £5000 p.a, okay they might be cramped, specified instead of chosen, but this is a nearly £9000 placement.
It more needs noting how N.G.B awards are vital to freedom to operate outside of your last employment contract. Without them the work could have been rewarding beyond a decent income, with them this employer is offering good jobs to potentially successful individuals and not just members of staff.
Some decent expensive NGB's need paying for by the employer, plus memberships of the relevant sport body. Otherwise you will need a good references and a fortunate landing in the next similar job or as said, decent money from a complete change of job to earn a start next time.

In reply to Boulden:

It's the problem with lot's of 'trainee' opportunities nowadays, they prey on passionate young peoples desperation for experience.

The people who do apply for this will probably put in far longer hours than £1.70 p/h reflects -fair play to them and shame on Arethusa Venture Centre.

My advice to anyone thinking about it is get a good education, get a good job, do some outdoors training as and when you can and get into it slowly and don't be taken for a mug

A poor wage indeed but someone that takes this role is hardly being taken for a mug.
The outdoor industry pays poorly as a whole. I only know a few people who do it for the wage though.
These poorly paid trainee ships can be a great gap year job or a good way to get your foot in the door. I wouldn't change mine for the world and 7 years later I now earn more than £1.70ph and have a great lifestyle.

In reply to Boulden:

what ngbs?

1.70 ph? exploitation

In reply to howifeel:


Ok then. That's a nearly £4.12 an hour. Still pretty pitiful!

In reply to Boulden:

How is it possible to pay below the minimum wage? Its not a apprenticeship. Could I open a factory. offer a NGB training give the guy a room to sleep in the back give him 3 bowls of soup a day.

Why are people allowed to exploit those keen to find work in a interesting sector?

disgusting

In reply:

About 12 years ago, I did a 'trainee year' at Ardroy Outdoor Ed centre in Lochgoilhead, Scotland. It was an LEA Centre and they had the scheme setup with the local council. They'd rigged things so it was run as an official training-to-find-work type scheme in conjunction with the jobcentre.

You were given decent accommodation, the weekly dole as pocket money (about 45 quid at the time), and you did an NVQ Level 3 in Outdoor Ed.

They also paid for training and assessments for ML, SPA and Level 2 at the time (if you managed to get through them). You usually got one day, sometimes two a week during the working week to go out and work towards your NGB's.

The main difference with that scheme was that you WERE essentially working for free, BUT it never really smacked of 'free labour' for the centre, because they genuinely could have done without you. You assisted on sessions that the instructor could run him/herself if they had to, gradually taking on more and more responsibility as the year wore on.

It was a genuinely quality scheme and it sorted me out.

This ad sounds more like they're recruiting for free labour, but I could be wrong. Definitely worth checking out other providers for similar schemes, because they are probably much better ones around. Check LEA centres (Local Education Authority centres). Most of them have good quality trainee schemes.

And KENT? Why would you do a trainee year in Kent?! It's flat as a pancake. If you're gonna do a trainee year, go to Wales, Lakes or Scotland!

In reply to Andy S:

I took on two assistant instructors this year at the centre i manage,
they didn't have to have any industry experience (although they were recruited from the first years on outdoor degrees) we gave them all their food accommodation from May til August and paid them £150 per five day week, they didn't get NGBS apart from first aid but they got relevant experience to pursue them. just a comparison

In reply to robatkinson:

That's a genuinely good deal. Some might criticise and take the angle that it's not enough pay compared to if they worked at a summer camp, for example, but I would disagree - at a summer camp you'd have to work ridiculous hours.

In reply to Boulden:

or they could come to college on an outdoor sports course. their are a number that do them including ourselves in the Peak District, Reaseheath and Wirral met college. I am also aware that a number of colleges in the area have suddenly jumped on the bandwagon as they have spare staff with most public services courses not recruiting enough students!) They should then be encouraged to gain NGB's whilst on the course, ours do first aid, powerboat level 2 and safety boat as well as BEL (which means they can teach DofE) as well as subsidised MLTE courses etc. They should also be in a position to finish early so that they can then gain useful centre employment. (our course finishes in May so that they can go and work for PGL, Acorn, Voyager International etc)

In reply to A Mountain Journey:

What does day release mean?

This job sounds like an absolute nightmare as far as personal development goes, I'd be amazed if any of the applicants got out with full SPA and meaningful BCU certs. That average wage so close to the city of London the owners should be ashamed.

In reply to Boulden:
Can't see you earning much rowing across the ocean for several months.. (Joke?)
I'm just emphasing that all things well, the lifestyle is worth plenty, admittedly the industry probably loses because the awards are so expensive relative to this low income, prohibiting the lifestyle being a true relation to the pounds paid by the social services and schools who pay lots to accredited businesses. They probably pay lots.v.much.LOTS.
So lots of skivvies and quite a few majorly well paid types with vested interests in keeping income related to awards they have and completed training programmes one step ahead and out of reach to many of those in regular or full time work in the industry.
However, get the job, start working in the centre, for that time it will not feel like that, .... the countryside has no doors. (kinda) Perhaps your personality will then walk through these no longer there doors.

In reply to Andy S:

Compared to a real job?

My missus worked in a summer camp and got a grand + Flights for 4 months work... Each summer at uni I took a proper job (contract cleaning, raft guiding, labouring in a sawmill, as a bench joiner) earned between 7-10 an hour, and managed to get a hell of a lot of paddling, biking and walking (I was out of climbing at the time) in after my early shifts, in the hours between splits as well as all my days off...

Each year I got a lot of activities in, plus a big chunk of money to spend on kit, car & trips (equally I could have spent it on NGB's and a van)

I would strongly urge anyone who has the stamina to do so to find reasonably well paid shift work, get out every day you can, live cheaply (as a young person the unglamourous approach of staying at home is ideal) and invest in qualifications and personal development as fast as you can afford to.

In reply to howifeel:

A bit under 2 months actually........

However, my point was that this isn't an apprenticeship as such, as there doesn't seem to be an educational element (other than NGB, and I suspect they don't fit the criteria) to it, nor is there mentioned any form of day release to a college (and even an apprenticeship is subject to kinimum wage regulations).

That being the case, I don't see how it can be legal to pay such a low wage.

In reply to Boulden:
Aye, if there is no satisfactory NGB>
There is no college necessity for almost all Outdoor Pursuits however as in between the training and the assessment is time filled by gaining the majority of the experience necessary in a structured fashion that suits the exam, hence a decent centre can actually do this, whereas a hopeful individual is even more at the mercy of occasional unaccreditable employment.
Certainly I would expect the apprentice label to be related to quite individual centre provision. No NGB's would be a bad result of an apprenticeship. At least all the basic ones and several starts to expensive ones, perhaps this would make the higher level staff deliver instead of networking for themselves. £700 plus for an MIA intro or assessment is steep steep steep. They are meant to be working with like minded individuals, sympathetic to their attitudes, not stand offish and cashing in, surely there's other opportunities to earn from actual clients.
I think nationwide loads, I mean loads of people are processed through the basic climbing wall awards but then find it impossible to achieve anything else whilst using the same practices.
Start them on a further higher award, one that makes them colleagues of the leading professionals instead of competitors. they still can't get a job necessarily but will not have been ripped off by their own profession.

In reply to Boulden: Ouch - exploitation alert

In reply to Boulden:
http://www.outdoor-learning.org/Default.aspx?tabid=79&CategoryId=10

lots of other trainees ships here.

Last year in N Wales the outdoor partnership provided local apprenticeships two days a week NVQ training at the local college with two days shadowing,observing , assisting plus mentoring from permanent staff at quality Outdoor Education Centres all LEA centres. Followed by 3months paid work at same centres. During the year training was provided by PYB the apprentice we had achieved ML SPA D1 and BCU L1 coach all fully funded. Don't think it will be run this year sadly.
Worth looking carefully at what you get always some good options about, not working in an on site setting run as a fun factory with limited pay conditions and training opportunity.

In reply to Boulden:

Just to answer a couple of points/concerns raised below as to what exactly the trainee scheme will involve
The trainees will complete the following NGB qualifications:
Water Qualifications:
• RLSS NPLQ
• RLSS NWSMP Level 3
• Bell Boat helm
• RYA Level 2 Powerboat helm
• RYA Safety boat helm
• RYA level 2 – 3 seamanship skills
• RYA A.I
• BCU 2 Star Canoe and Kayak
• BCU 3 Star Sea Kayak
• BCU FSRT +Level 1 UKCC Coach
Land Qualifications:
• GNAS Archery leader
• CWA
• ERCA International ropes course instructor
• RPIOL
• First Aid at Work
• Child safeguarding training
• Fire marshal and manual handling course
• Food Hygiene Level 2
• Bushcraft, possibly forest school level 2 practitioners.

We will also be paying the membership fees for the relevant national governing bodies.
We envision this trainee scheme will benefit young people who are already interested in working in the outdoor industry and are willing to invest 15 months of their time to gain these qualifications.

We will be supporting the individuals in gaining the necessary requirements to successfully pass the assessments, by working at the centre under the guidance of more senior instructors, and by taking them off site on various trips to work on their personal development in the various different disciplines of adventure sports we will be introducing them to.

In addition to these qualifications the trainees will have full access to our equipment and facilities. They will be given a uniform and a basic level of outdoor equipment. The will also have access to any discounted equipment we can provide.
They will be housed in new, purpose built, accommodation and all their meals will be provided.

We will work with contacts in the industry to place these trainees in employment when they finish the scheme or perhaps even keep them on here as full time core members of staff.
If anyone has any further questions or queries please don’t hesitate to contact me at the centre on 01634719933 or info@arethusa.org.uk

Many thanks,

Bryan
Centre Manager