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A day in the Life of an Outward Bound Instructor
I have been asked to present to you “A Day in the Life of an Outward Bound Instructor”. It is actually surprisingly difficult to put into words. In the three years that I have been working for Outward Bound, I cannot recall two days that have been the same! Perhaps one of the reasons people are attracted to this job is the fact that there is no such thing as a typical day! Hence I shall give you a broad picture of what we do, some colleagues’ views and that of a classic student, which should help me elucidate it!

instructors-climbing.jpgOur work is varied on many levels. We work with people aged 10 at the youngest to 24 at the oldest, from as near as Fort William to the far corners of the globe. Aims for our courses can vary widely from a year group induction, to a twenty-one day wilderness adventure. With the variety in age demographic comes responsibility to pitch your tuition style at the correct level, so as to avoid patronising or bewilderment!

In addition to differences in age we have differences in background and the way participants feed into the Outward Bound network. For example they may be from school groups, universities, the workplace or simply individuals. It is never the case that the components of two courses are exactly the same and so it is down to the instructors to tailor their input to fit the needs of a given group. This is where the professionalism and skill of an Outward Bound instructor comes in to play. By being able to deal with such a wide spectrum of situations, you become used to looking for success not on your own terms but on the terms of the group. By seeing a task approached and achieved in many different ways you are aware that it is not what is being done that is important but how!

To the untrained eye an outward-bound course could be seen as a succession of fun adventurous activities such as kayaking, and sailing. But to the trained eye it is a process of investigating life skills such as how we make decisions and how we communicate ideas.

instructors-rafting.jpgSo what does it take to be an Outward Bound instructor? I feel the most important qualities for an Outward Bound instructor are to be able to think on your feet and adapt a task so that you can achieve learning from it and transfer that learning to harder tasks as the course builds. This quality allows you to be successful in an environment where parameters are fluctuating constantly. The weather, the group dynamic, logistical arrangements and availability of equipment can all change instantly. To work at Outward Bound in any capacity you have to be incredibly flexible.

To allow us to be successful, we enjoy the back up of the fantastic highland environment, and improving facilities and equipment. But in the end, the responsibility lies with us to facilitate a successful course.

I felt that offering only my own thoughts on a day in the life of an Outward Bound instructor would be insufficient. To answer fully what it is that we do, I have enlisted the help of my colleagues. Their expertise ranges from Business, Engineering and Sport Science, to Fine Art, Pharmacology, and even Outdoor Education. They have worked in forestry and mining, special needs care and the armed forces, and so the quotes I am about to share are as diverse as our students!