OUTDOOR leadership students are celebrating the launch of a new qualification designed to help them reach new heights in their career.
Emerging outdoor professionals will soon be able to study for a two year foundation degree at Darlington College, developed to prepare them for employment.
Designed to build advanced technical, coaching and professional skills, the course has been approved by Teesside University and is now accepting applications for September.
Current Level 3 students have already signed up for the new programme, which is aimed at making learners work-ready in an increasingly competitive sector.
The course features modules including coaching science, practical leadership and coaching in key outdoor disciplines, adventure therapy, and a business module to support students who wish to work freelance or develop their own outdoor enterprises.
Course content has been designed to develop students in line with the requirements of outdoor industry national governing bodies, including Paddle UK and the British Mountaineering Council, helping students to gain established industrial qualifications alongside their academic studies.
The college will also offer support towards securing placements in the outdoor industry, using a wide range of existing industrial contacts to help students gain meaningful work experience and develop appropriate industry specific skills.
Course leader Richard Longstaff said: “Progress in the outdoor industry is highly dependent on having the right skills, experience and qualifications. We support students throughout their journey, using a proven mentoring model to help them succeed.
“There’s a significant demand for higher-level development within the outdoor sector, specifically in this region, born of the incredibly dynamic countryside we are blessed with.
“We have been generating outdoor leaders for the future at level 3 since 2003 at Darlington College and this recent addition allows us to extend our service to university-level study.
“We’re currently the only provider of such a specific course in the region. Opportunities are beginning to open up, particularly for freelances and we are ahead of the game in meeting the needs of a growing industry.”
For student Kenzie Maitchell the timing could not have been better. The Level 3 student in Outdoor Leadership is one of the first to sign up for the foundation degree.
“I want to get into the industry and am collecting as many qualifications as I can,” the 19 year old former pupil at Greenfield School, Newton Aycliffe, said.
“I have always been happier outdoors no matter what the weather. I never wanted to be stuck in a classroom and after school would always end up walking through the woods to home.
“I want to be as ready as I can be for my chosen career in the outdoors and this foundation degree will help me to build on my current success. It would be great to run my own business one day and I have already achieved so much in climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing and navigation skills.
“Thanks to Darlington College I have been trekking in Nepal and Cyprus, which was life-changing, and been involved in planning and managing expeditions.
“I want to broaden my mind and do as many things as I can. Before I came to Darlington College I had no confidence, Now I know what to do in so many situations and my confidence and self-esteem has grown massively.”
Fellow student Aaron Brooks, 19, of Leeming Bar, agrees. “School was a mixed bag for me as I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” he said. “I did like the outdoors, mountain biking in particular, then I met Richard at Darlington College who told me about the outdoor programmes.
“I’ve now done things I never thought I’d have the skills to do, such as kayaking, and I feel I have really progressed. I’ve been here two years and met some really good people who are friends for life. The course is so interesting and I now know what I want to do. It is so much fun and the more you learn the more fascinating it is, so it doesn’t ever feel like work.”
Anyone interested in applying for the foundation degree, or the level 3 qualification in Outdoor Activity Leadership at Darlington College, should visit www.darlington.ac.uk or the Darlington College Outdoor Facebook page.