Careers for Adventure Education Students
General Sites
Institute for Outdoor Learning: www.outdoor-learning.org.
- Careers advice section (mainly for pre HE but still useful)
- Jobs section
- Good useful links section
- National map search facility for activity providers
Blue Dome is very useful: www.bluedome.co.uk. It has general information about adventure careers as well as a section advertising vacancies – www.bluedome.co.uk/jobs/jobs.html. These are categorised into areas like outdoor instructor, water sports and sailing, adventure travel jobs and managerial positions. It is run by people involved in the outdoors and emphasises the importance of gaining practical experience.
The page for sports students on this site may also be useful to adventure education students.
Outdoor Education / Youth Work / Education
Information about the outdoor education provided by, or supported by, local authorities can be useful to identify potential contacts:
- West Sussex Grid for Learning Outdoor Education. Links to approved providers: http://wsgfl.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/curriculum/outdoor-education
- Hampshire Council’s Outdoor Education Service: www3.hants.gov.uk/education/outdoor-education.htm
- Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development: www.surreycc.gov.uk (shortened url)
Prospects.ac.uk provide a job profile for Youth Worker and the National Youth Work Agency is also useful: www.nya.org.uk
For information about applying for a PGCE see our Applying for Teacher Training page.
Associations and Organisations
Adventure Activities Licensing Authority – government sponsored scheme ensuring providers of adventure activities to those under 18 years of age have their safety management systems inspected: www.aala.org/index.php
Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres – links to centres around the UK: www.ahoec.org
British Activity Holiday Association – trade association for private sector providers of activity holidays: www.baha.org.uk.
British Association of Snowsport Instructors: www.basi.org.uk
British Canoe Union: www.bcu.org.uk
British Caving Association: http://british-caving.org.uk
British Mountaineering Council: www.thebmc.co.uk
Duke of Edinburgh Award – has a job opportunities section: www.theaward.org
MLTUK Mountain Leader Training: www.mltuk.org. Job vacancies are available (to members) from the Mountain Leader Training Association’s website: www.mlta.co.uk
Outward Bound's careers and opportunities section: www.outwardbound.org.uk/Careers
Royal Yachting Association: http://www.rya.org.uk
For links to overseas organisations offering gap year type activities have a look at our Gap Year / Time Out page. The links can act as a directory of potential employers.
Information on the page for sports students may also be useful. Bear in mind that not all links will be suitable – sports development and health promotion, for example, are entirely feasible options for adventure education graduates, but some of the core science disciplines will not be.
Job boards / other advertised vacancies
The number of vacancies on jobs boards can vary a lot, however these ones may be worth a look:
Outdoor Staff – from 247 Media categories including instructor, senior instructor and management: www.outdoorstaff.co.uk
Adventure Jobs - from the Hotonline recruitment sites www.adventurejobs.co.uk
Outdoor Solutions - www.outdoor-solutions.co.uk
Emergency Services
Click on the job titles for a job profile from prospects.ac.uk:
- Firefighter
- Councils are responsible for their fire and rescue services. There is no central recruitment, check the websites of the services regularly – each operate a different policy and recruitment is not year round. Local services are:
- East Sussex: www.esfrs.org
- Surrey: www.surreycc.gov.uk (shortened url)
- Kent: www.kent.fire-uk.org
- Hampshire: www.hantsfire.gov.uk
- Police Officer
- Police recruitment: www.policecouldyou.co.uk/index.php
- Paramedic
- Coastguard - Maritime and Coastguard Agency: www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-careers_with_the_mca/hr-careers-with-mca/hr-mca-careers-choices/hr-career-coastguard.htm
Armed Forces
For careers in the armed forces see:
Army: www.armyjobs.mod.uk
Navy: www.royalnavy.mod.uk
RAF: www.raf.mod.uk/careers
Careers advisers from the Army and RAF usually visit Bishop Otter Campus twice a year to see anyone interested in a career with them on graduation. For more information contact Careers.
Management and Business Sectors
Management is one way to progress a career in the adventure industries. The Institute for Outdoor Learning and Blue Dome both advertise managerial positions.
Most management opportunities will require a combination of outdoor / adventure qualifications and evidence of leadership qualities. One approach is to progress within the adventure industry; another is to gain management training and experience in another industry and then move across into the adventure sector. The page for students on business courses may be useful, as well as the more general sources of vacancies on the Jobs After Graduating page.
A further option is working in the adventure sector but in a business related role. An example is the retail of outdoor equipment. Companies will have the business roles such as buying, merchandising, finance, IT etc with the product being related to the outdoors:
- Cotswolds Outdoors – outdoor clothing and equipment retailer: www.cotswoldoutdoor.com (shortened url)
- Blacks Leisure Groups: www.blacksleisure.co.uk
Have a look at the Creative Job Hunting page for approaches to finding relevant companies.
Any Degree...Any Career
It is worth bearing in mind that approximately 50% of 'graduate jobs' are open to graduates from any subjects. More information is available from the Any Degree...Any Career? page.
The ability to articulate your skills to employers or colleagues is in itself hugely important in securing future opportunities, and particularly so if you are aiming for something not directly related to your subject. Some examples of skills are listed below. Your personal skill set may include some or all of these as well as others. Tools and tips for personal reflection are available from the PDP pages and the Decision Making page.
General skills may include:
- Personal management – self motivation, time management, problem solving skills, self reflection, ability to study independently, set goals, manage workload and deadlines.
- Communication – written and verbal (including presentation) as well as listening
- Team working, interpersonal and social skills – ability to negotiate and pursue goals in a team, respond to leadership and take the lead where appropriate
- Financial and business skills and awareness
- Confidence – in expressing ideas and engaging with others.
- Information – research, analysis, reasoning, logic, critical thinking. Ability to use and assess a variety of sources.
Subject skills may include:
- Understanding the role of an adventure facilitator – especially through observations and practical experience gained through placements
- Appreciating and understanding the theoretical basis of the subject
- Awareness of the moral, ethical and legal issues relevant to adventure education
Further study
If you are thinking about further study there are several key areas to research. These include assessing the value of further study for your future plans, finding and applying to the most appropriate courses and funding your study. More information and course search facilities are available from the Postgraduate and Further Study page.
It can be necessary to be quite persistent in your course search as there is not a central admissions service for postgrad courses (except for some vocational subjects). UCAS's search facility can be particularly useful in identifying universities that have relevant departments and then the universities themselves are then the best source of information: www.ucas.ac.uk.
Other options
Have a look at our sections: Which Career?, How do I get a Job?, Work Experience, Postgrad and Further Study, Work and Study Abroad / Time Out and Special Interest Groups for resources aimed at all students regardless of course. Subjects covered include CVs, applications, interviews, decision making, career planning through your course, work experience, postgrad and further study, gap year / time out, diversity, international students and ethical careers.
Generally we encourage you to start thinking about what you want to do after university as early as possible in the course (don't worry - we know it doesn't always work like that!). For some tips on this see the Career Planning Through Your Course page.