Outdoor pursuits manager
Outdoor pursuits managers run centres that provide facilities for and instruction in a range of outdoor activities, such as climbing, mountaineering, water sports, orienteering, horse riding and cycling. Most centre managers will have a background in instructing and may continue to instruct as part of their job. As a manager they have the overall responsibility for the centre and manage staff and their activities while also ensuring adherence to safety regulations at all times.
The focus of the role may be educational, particularly when working with certain client groups, such as school pupils, people with special needs or young offenders. Outdoor pursuits activities are also offered to corporate groups in the field of management and personal development and, increasingly, for pleasure and adventure holidays, for both children and adults.
The nature of the work varies depending on the activities offered, the client groups and the employer, but typical activities may include:
A degree or HND is not absolutely essential, although it will greatly boost your chances of securing a management role.
Although this career is open to graduates and diplomates from a variety of disciplines, a degree/foundation degree/HND in the following subject areas would offer a particularly useful background:
A postgraduate degree is not necessary for entry to the profession. Postgraduate qualifications are available in outdoor education and recreation management. Search Find a Masters for courses. Teaching qualifications can be an advantage as opportunities are often in local authority centres.
For many people, the first step into this career is working as a seasonal instructor at an outdoor centre or on an activity holiday followed by a move up the ladder to a full-time instructor, a senior instructor and, finally, managing an entire centre.
Skills and experience in at least one outdoor activity are sought by employers - the more activity skills you can offer, the better. You will need experience of working as an instructor, along with a formal instructor's qualification from the appropriate national governing body (NGB) in at least one main activity. If these qualifications are not offered as part of your degree course or through the clubs you are involved in, contact the national NGB for your sport(s) for details of courses and qualifications. You can find details of NGBs on Sport England , Sport Northern Ireland , Sport Scotland and Sport Wales .
Finding a work placement or doing voluntary work, in an outdoor activities centre, for example, is a valuable way of gaining experience.
It is also important to participate in extracurricular activities. A community sports leader's award will be an advantage, as will involvement in activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award , Explorer Scouts (see Scout Association ), the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) , university societies, sports teams and expeditions.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
An appropriate first aid qualification of at least two days' duration is essential. If you plan to be involved in water sports, you will also need a life saving qualification.
It is also useful to learn how to drive a minibus and tow a trailer so that you can transport clients and equipment to the activity site.
In addition, it is important to have an interest in other aspects of the outdoors, such as the geography, geology and natural, social and industrial history of the region in which you want to work. You should also have a commitment to the conservation and protection of the natural environment.
Competition for management posts can be fierce. Applicants need to have relevant experience and the necessary qualities to handle the responsibility involved. For some, this will be a second career after school teaching, the armed forces, youth work or coaching.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Once in post, training is ongoing, as it is essential to keep vocational skills and qualifications up to date. Your first aid certificate, for example, must be kept up to date throughout your career.
Changes in the popularity of activities may mean gaining qualifications in other specialist areas. For example, if marine leisure is identified as a growth area, additional qualifications in this area could increase your employability.
Many employers will sponsor employees (even part-time seasonal ones) to complete additional qualifications while working as an instructor. Contact the relevant national governing body or the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL) for details of the qualifications you can take.
Membership of the IOL can be useful for networking and career development opportunities. Reduced rates of membership are available to students, providing access to a range of services. The IOL holds regular conferences and is involved in professional development and workshop days on a variety of outdoor skills throughout the UK. In addition, members can apply for professional accreditation through the IOL. There are four levels of accreditation, depending on your level experience.
Membership of the Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA) is also available to those working in outdoors activities.
Postgraduate qualifications are available in outdoor education and recreation management. Outdoor pursuits managers may also take qualifications in related fields, such as:
Search Find a Masters for courses. These qualifications can be particularly useful as they may facilitate career progression to higher positions, for example within a local authority's leisure services department.
Although promotion to supervisory and management posts can be rapid if you have the right qualifications, experience and commitment, this is not a structured career and there is no defined career ladder. In general, however, the larger multiple centre providers offer more scope for quick progression to managerial roles with some individuals spending only one or two seasons actually delivering activities.
If you want to stay actively involved in outdoor pursuits, managing an outdoor pursuits centre is normally as high as you can go. In the private sector, there are some opportunities to move into overseeing several centres or working at a head office. In the public sector, promotion usually means moving into more senior administrative work in leisure services or education. Some administrative posts are also available with national governing bodies (NGBs) and sports councils.
Progression within outdoor pursuits could mean setting up your own centre, perhaps concentrating on newer markets for leisure and corporate clients. Freelance work is also possible, focusing on advising or training providers. The industry has a relatively high number of freelance instructors working for a range of different centres. Freelancers will hold relevant instructor's qualifications from the appropriate NGB.
There are some opportunities to teach outdoor pursuits even in urban areas, where indoor facilities are available for climbing, canoeing and skiing and local canals or urban lakes can be used for outdoor activities. Involvement in this type of provision can be a way into leisure management in its broadest sense.
A move into further or higher education lecturing or school teaching is possible for those with appropriate qualifications. Outside the broad field of education, other opportunities exist in specialist outdoor equipment manufacture and retail, as well as in visitor and countryside centres.
Large organisations in the private sector provide opportunities to work abroad (especially in the USA and Australia). Outdoor education is sometimes called experiential education in the USA.
Because of the nature of the role, outdoor pursuits managers may spend only part of their career in this industry, before moving on to something with more regular hours, more stability and a more defined career structure.
You could be employed by:
The market for courses includes:
The private sector, which includes small, independent centres and large organisations, may run expeditions and outdoor activities abroad as well as in the UK.
Management opportunities also exist in national sports centres and national governing bodies and in leisure services.
It is sometimes possible for experienced managers to set up their own centre or to undertake freelance work.
Job titles may vary; warden, course director, chief instructor, head of centre and operations manager can all be used to describe this type of work.
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