Be 18 years of age or older within the calendar year in which they are applying to study.
Qualify for employment across a wide range of recreation and adventure tourism activities and earn credit toward further studies that open the door to multiple career pathways.
Outdoor guiding requires strong leadership, interpersonal, and interpretative skills as well as a high level of expertise and knowledge in specific skill areas. During the program, you'll develop and practice valuable career skills while training in sea kayaking, canoeing, sailing, river rafting, mountain travel, wildlife viewing, wilderness first aid and other outdoor education specialties. All courses are highly experiential, giving you the opportunity to progressively build your knowledge and confidence.
Applied theory courses will provide you with a more comprehensive view of the adventure guiding industry, including a focus on sustainability, law and ethics and cross-cultural skills. This includes learning through Aboriginal tourism interactions as part of guiding on the coast. Course hours are divided between the classroom and the field. Classmates frequently take turns co-leading while instructors provide support, direction and feedback.
Formal and informal evaluation, which is ongoing throughout this program, takes place in the classroom and in the wilderness. In addition to achieving industry-recognized certifications, you will receive college grades and credit based on practical skills evaluations, contributions to group learning, presentations, assignments, quizzes and exams.
Field Focused
Core Competencies
TGA-100 Guiding Skills 1
TGA-101 Interpretation
TGA-103 Sea Kayaking 1
TGA-106 Sea Kayaking 2
TGA-110 Guiding Skills 2
TGA-111 Wilderness First Aid
TGA-700 Work Placement
*NAU-016 Restricted Operator Certificate - Maritime
*TCS-010 SuperHost Foundations of Service Quality
*TFS-010 FoodSafe Level 1
*Note - These courses are all scheduled with reserved sections for the Adventure Guiding program - no separate course registration is necessary.
Field Skill Options
Two field skill electives totaling 4 credits are required to meet program requirements. Students may choose additional field skill electives, in which case additional charges will be incurred.
TGA-102 Wildlife Viewing
TGA-104 River Rafting 1
TGA-105 Canoeing
TGA-107 Sailing
TGA-108 Mountain Skills 1
TGA-109 Winter Mountain Travel 1
TGA-112 Rock Skills 1
TGA-114 River Rafting 2
TGA-131 Field Specialty Option 1 (Please discuss with coordinator)
TGA-132 Field Specialty Option 2 (Please discuss with coordinator)
Note: field skill course availability and delivery model based on enrolment; registration for the Field Skill Option choices are done individually with a permission form completed in consultation with Adventure Guiding Faculty
Applied Theory
THM-211 Sustainable Tourism
THM-212 Tourism & Hospitality Law and Ethics
or THM-100 The Tourism Industry
THM-225 Cross Cultural Tourism
ENG-160 Effective Organizational Writing or ENG-115 Essay Writing and Critical Analysis
The above Program Requirements meet the BC Provincial Adventure Tourism Certificate Program Core Curriculum requirements (revised 2007).
Completion Requirements
This is a 1 year (2 term) program; requiring completion within 3 years of admission.
Qualify for entry-level leadership and guiding positions with sea kayaking and river rafting companies, coastal and mountain resorts, sailboat-based tours, whale and wildlife tour operators, outdoor centres, youth wilderness programs and camps, adventure therapy programs, interpretative centres and other rewarding settings.
You will be well-prepared with relevant outdoor leadership skills that transfer across a variety of career paths and professions such as conservation officer, park ranger, teacher, community recreation programmer, field researcher or assistant (biology, geology, etc.), professional ski patroller and other industries and services.
