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With years of experience delivering skills courses and training qualifications, the RAW team has helped more than a few people enter the industry. We also have over 600 freelance staff on our books, so know the industry pretty well from the employer’s side too.

In this article, we examine how you can become an outdoor professional and build a career in the sector. We cover the qualification pathway most industry professionals follow, provide tips on how to find your first job and discuss accessibility and diversity issues in the outdoor sector.

Education, training and qualifications

Outdoor professionals enter the sector in various ways. Many jump from adjacent professions. Others receive training from an employer. And some just get a lucky break. However, if you want to lead walks, excursions and expeditions, the Mountain Training accreditation pathway is the most widely recognised and accepted route.

Starting with the Lowland Leader qualification and progressing to the higher level qualifications like the International Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader or Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, the pathway is designed to provide everyone, no matter their experience or current skill level, a way to progress and develop new skills and competencies.

Mountain Training is the organisation responsible for overseeing skills courses for walking, climbing and mountaineering and certifying associated qualifications. Covering the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the organisation is widely respected as the leading training provider in the outdoor sector and an excellent way to develop the skills required to enter the industry. Crucially, Mountain Training doesn’t deliver the courses and qualifications itself. Instead, it uses accredited course providers, such as RAW Adventures, to do so.

Check out RAW Adventures Mountain Training qualification courses.

The Mountain Training qualifications pathway

Where you begin with the Mountain Training pathway largely depends on your previous experience and where in the country you want to work. For many, the Lowland Leader qualification is an excellent entry point. However, those with more outdoor expertise may want to move straight to the Hill and Moorland Leader scheme, whilst anyone with extensive mountain experience already may wish to head straight for the Mountain Leader qualification.

To help you better understand the Mountain Training skills pathway, we put together a brief overview of what each qualification enables you to do.

• • Lowland Leader – equips individuals with the skills required to lead groups in low-level terrain in the UK and Irish countryside in summer conditions.
• • Hill and Moorland Leader – enables you to lead group day walks in the hills and moorlands (defined as “open, uncultivated, non-mountainous high or remote country) in the UK and Ireland, in summer conditions.
• • Mountain Leader – ensures individuals can lead groups in terrain that may feature “unavoidable steep and rocky ground”. Walkers will often be dependent on themselves for immediate help. In the UK and Ireland, this includes areas like Eryri (Snowdonia), the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District, the Cork and Kerry mountains and Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).
• • Winter Mountain Leader – builds on the Mountain Leader course and expands individuals’ skill sets to encompass winter conditions.
• • International Mountain Leader – if you want to move your career beyond the confines of the UK, this is the course for you. It enables you to work as an outdoor leader in Europe and further afield.

Mountain training also offers a complete Climbing pathway for those who want to focus on leading rock climbing activities or building their knowledge in this specific area. This starts with the Climbing Wall Instructor, and runs all the way up to the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor.

Understanding the importance of the Mountain Training DLOG

Wherever you are in your career – whether you are taking the first step or already lead hill and moorland walks and want to go higher – logging your activities is absolutely essential. Creating a comprehensive record of your walks ensures:

• • You have a detailed account of all outdoor activities you have participated in.
• • Enables you to demonstrate core competencies to assessors and potential employers.
• • Helps you process and learn from each outdoor activity.

While there are many ways to record your walks, the most common is the Mountain Training DLOG system. This is a Digital Logbook (DLOG) that enables you to record activities and attach notes and GPX files for future reference. All of the Mountain Training accreditations require you to upload evidence for a certain number of activity hours and this is achieved via the DLOG. But it’s also just good practice and valuable on a personal level. If you’re a UKClimbing user, you can also import your logbook directly into DLOG.

All candidates and participants in Mountain Training skills courses or qualifications get access to the DLOG system for life at no additional cost. If you are considering doing a course, we recommend registering early so you can start logging your days immediately. The Mountain Training website features an excellent DLOG FAQ section if you want to learn more about the system.

Finding work as an outdoor professional

As much as we wish we could reveal the secret to finding your dream job in the outdoor sector, it typically comes down to a lot of hard work. You will need to do your research on local employers, reach out to them to check for vacancies and be ready to demonstrate your skills, abilities and qualifications. In this respect, immersing yourself in the local outdoor community is a big help and will help you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to finding out about potential jobs and opportunities.

Working to enhance your skill set and acquire new qualifications will put you in a better position, as it will show you are versatile and able to fulfil several roles and lead different types of activity. These courses are also an excellent place to network and connect with people who may be able to help you find a position as a walking leader.

Accessibility in the outdoor sector

To anyone already involved in the outdoor industry, and many of those interested in becoming a part of it, it is clear that there is a diversity issue. The outdoor sector is overwhelmingly white and predominantly male. The lack of diversity extends to all marginalised groups. Research suggests that women make up just 28% of permanent and full-time seasonal staff (Land&Wave), while studies show that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals constitute a meagre 1% of all visitors to UK national parks (Guardian).

The reasons for this are complex, multi-faceted and well beyond the scope of this article. However, we would like to highlight some role models and resources that might prove valuable to those seeking to increase their participation or enter the industry. Not all of these resources are hiking-specific, but they are all inspirational and evidence of a different way of doing things.

Valuable resources and links

Better representation in the outdoor industry begins with more participation. As such, community groups and initiatives are invaluable. Groups like Black Girls Hike, Climbxr and Steppers UK showcase BAME participation in outdoor activities while also providing opportunities for people to get involved by organising events.

Many groups seek to improve participation by targeting specific barriers to entry. For instance, the New Forest Off Road Club is a women and non-binary-led cycling group that has gone from strength to strength in recent years. It asks male riders keen to join a club ride and learn more about the systemic barriers that prohibit participation to consider offering child care to a Mum who is equally keen to join them. After all, this is a traditional barrier to entry for many mums.

Of course, funding is also an issue and some organisations have made money available to improve diversity in the UK outdoor sector. Sport England awarded the YHA £119,953 in 2020 to develop female and/or Black, Asian or minority ethnic outdoor leaders. Mountain Training also operates bursary schemes for its skills courses and activities. It has written a guide to saving money while doing skills courses.

There is also the Tom Furey Memorial Trust (Dan, our Operations Manager, is a trustee!). This was set up after we sadly lost Tom to an accident in Eryri in June 2022. Tom worked for RAW regularly and was one of our senior freelance staff. The Trust aims to offer grants to anyone in financial hardship to enable them to access quality education and training in the mountains. RAW are incredibly proud to be able to support this charity which lies very close to our hearts.

Finally, Kitsquad is an excellent organisation that aims to get more people involved in outdoor pursuits by providing donated adventure gear to low-income individuals. Outdoor activities often have a big cost-barrier to entry and this can help overcome it. In the future, we would love to see equipment libraries take off in the UK, too. Increasingly popular in the US bikepacking communities, they could provide people with the gear required to take those first steps into an activity that becomes a lifelong passion.

A quick note on diversity

We recognise that this brief list of resources does not scratch the surface when it comes to the problems and potential solutions associated with diversity in the outdoor sector. But we felt it would be remiss to discuss how someone may go about entering the outdoor sector without acknowledging that many people face significant obstacles when attempting to do so.

Cost, time, low self-confidence, inadequate opportunities to develop necessary skills and a lack of access to the natural environment are all barriers to entry and we have a lot of work to do to make the outdoor sector more inclusive and diverse. RAW Adventures will be looking to play its part in any way we can, and are already in discussion with a number of community groups.

RAW Adventures and Mountain Training Qualifications

At RAW Adventures, we deliver high-quality Mountain Training qualification courses that emphasise a supportive learning environment that helps you deliver the skills you need. We don’t want to rush you through a course just so you can climb the ladder. We want to provide the foundations on which you can build your career and become an excellent outdoor leader.

We want to shape the outdoor leaders of tomorrow. Consequently, we leverage all our experience to ensure you are prepared to lead other outdoor enthusiasts in the future. Our talented team teaches and assesses small groups, allowing for a more personal and valuable experience that helps you strengthen your current weaknesses and further cement your strengths. Wherever you are in your outdoor career, you can benefit from working alongside our RAW Adventures educators. There is always something new to learn.

If you have any questions about our Mountain Training qualifications courses, don’t hesitate to reach out to the friendly and approachable RAW Adventures team.