Outdoor Education Professional Development Course

This intensive development course will provide you with the fundamental skills required to work with young people in the outdoor industry.

This is a comprehensive programme to allow you to achieve the skills and knowledge you will require to successfully start your career in the outdoor industry, working with young people. This course is a perfect balance of theory & practice, training & assessment so you can work towards a number of recognised National Governing Body awards. This course will also offer you personal life coaching skills and will increase your confidence, motivation and ability to deliver high quality outdoor activity sessions to a range of client groups.

Why Newgale YMCA?

What is so exciting about our programme is that it combines first class training in outdoor activities with courses that will help you understand and support the emotional development of young people.  The programme will equip you with the hard skills you need, and the opportunity to gain qualifications recognised by National Governing Bodies, on your journey to become a top class instructor. Not only that, by completing courses in Reality Therapy and Choice Theory you will also gain the confidence and the tools to work with any group of young people, no matter how challenging their needs may be.

Tom Iggledon, the Senior Instructor here at Newgale YMCA who designed this programme, says,

"This is a unique programme for people looking to train as an outdoor education instructor. Anyone joining this pilot programme will have an amazing opportunity to learn hard skills in outdoor activities from some of the best people in the country.  The team will include instructors who are recognised as being experts at what they do at national - and even European - level. Not only that but you will be joining a cutting edge programme that combines hard skills with tried and tested youth development training."

The Programme

On this programme you will have opportunity to cover the following:

• Choice Theory & Reality Therapy Training
• Mountain Leader Training
• Single Pitch Award (Rock Climbing) Training
• Level 1 Coach Canoe/Kayak
• BCU Foundation Safety and Rescue Training
• 1st Aid Training and Assessment
• In house training on Ropes courses, Teambuilding & Dynamics
• Expedition experience
• Risk Management Training
• A Life Saving Award

We are able to offer the following options for an additional fee:

• BCU 3 Star Surf Kayak
• BCU 3 Star Sea Kayak
• BCU 3 Star Inland Kayak
• BCU 3 Star Open Canoe
• BCU Swift River Rescue
• Surfboard Coach

 If you have previous experience in the outdoor industry there may be the opportunity for further development.

We will also help you develop an action plan and CV to support your search for employment in the outdoor industry.

Course Details:

For details about the course (cost, duration etc) please contact Tom or Denise on 01437 720 959

On site self catered accommodation is included on the course, Monday through Friday. For those who wish to stay at weekends please allow an additional costs per night. Some aspects of the course will take place at venues other than Newgale YMCA OEC, so you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in stunning locations in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Please be aware when booking that courses can only be run when a minimum of 4 persons book. 

Cancellation by Newgale YMCA

Whilst every attempt is made to ensure that advertised instructor training programmes do actually run, we reserve the right to cancel where the numbers fail to reach a workable minimum.