Avon Tyrrell

Avon Tyrrell

Our Outdoor Learning Apprentices

A lot has been happening with our Outdoor Learning apprentices throughout 2023. Find out more about a recent graduate’s thoughts on the programme, our 1st year’s trip away to the Peak District and the apprenticeship open day where we now welcome our four new apprentices. 

Here at Avon Tyrrell, we deliver an annual apprenticeship scheme, helping young people find entry to employment in a variety of industries and roles.  We currently have 5 apprentices in our scheme taking part in the two-year course, with 4 to start their first year this Winter.  

Applicants of our outdoor learning apprenticeships can be anyone aged 18 and over. We’ve had young people out of college as well as university graduates looking for a career in the outdoors – if they have a can-do attitude and enthusiastic personality an apprenticeship with us could be for them!  

Logan a recent graduate of our apprenticeship scheme said that an outdoor learning apprenticeship with Avon Tyrrell is great because ‘it gets you outside and gives you the opportunity to earn whilst you learn. One of the great benefits is all the qualifications that you gain, skilling you up for a lifetime of enjoying a career outdoors.’  

Avon Tyrrell apprentices’ trip to the Peak District 

As part of the apprenticeship scheme, each year our first-year apprentices go away for a team building and adventure experience. At the beginning of September, they stayed at Mount Cook Activity Centre and took part in bushcraft which involved rubbing sticks, arrow making and bracelet making out of bone and stinging nettles as well as orienteering the peaks and Via Ferrata.  

The few days away are a great time for the team to get away from their outdoor office and experience time together as a team and expand on the knowledge and skills they’ve learnt during the first year of the apprenticeship. Chris (a lead instructor) who went on the trip said that the apprentices gained so much from the time away; learning new techniques, and friends that they can depend on, and some leaving with a new excitement and thriving passion for the possibilities of working outdoors.  

Apprenticeship open day and new cohort welcome 

At the end of September, we welcomed 8 people to site to experience an outdoor learning apprenticeship. They got to try out some activities, meet the team and have an evening of finding out more about outdoor learning instructing and an apprenticeship from current apprentices and instructors, followed by a night lodge stay.  

We are incredibly excited to welcome our 4 new apprentices who joined us for the open day, to start working with us this October as they start their outdoor learning career with us as an apprentice.  

Make sure you follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to keep an eye on what they get up to over the next two-years, we can’t wait to see them all achieve some great things! 

From Apprentice to Instructor 

This year we’ve had 5 apprentices graduate the apprenticeship scheme with 2 now becoming full time instructors at Avon Tyrrell. Grace is one of our graduates who is staying on as a full-time instructor – stating that the ‘apprenticeship has helped me in many ways and has been the key to becoming the instructor’ that she is today, giving her confidence both in herself and the work that she does.  

Grace also let us know that the outdoor learning apprentice is ‘really quite life changing’ as it ‘provides the perfect environment to completely throw yourself into every aspect of instructing while being support by highly knowledgeable staff who are constantly inspiring and pushing you to be the best instructor you can be’. 

Nathan and Grace have done amazing throughout the two-year course, and we cannot wait to see everything they achieve instructing young people and guests in outdoor learning.