Overview
Gain the skills and knowledge you need to be qualified as a group facilitator leading a variety of outdoor recreation activities in unmodified natural environments such as wild bushland, lakes, rivers, mountains, and alpine terrain. Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership is considered the default qualification in Australia required by employees who work for businesses involved in leading groups on adventures for educational, recreational, fitness, or tourism purposes. This qualification teaches technical skills in at least two different adventure activities to be able to safely guide groups. As well as guiding, students are also taught how to plan and organise everything required to run an adventure activity. Risk and safety management are an important component of the course, and it is essential to be able to manage the technical safety issues within each activity, as well as the general health and safety of people. Common to all activities are group facilitation skills; being able to keep people engaged, interested, entertained and informed while being guided. The core activities in the Certificate IV Outdoor Leadership at Wodonga TAFE include advanced bushwalking, canoeing, and abseiling, with electives in other activities when a need arises.
Course Delivery Locations
All classes are based at McKoy Street Campus, Wodonga, Training excursions depart from and return to this location. Training excursions occur at a wide variety of outdoor locations, including:
- Mt Buffalo National Park
- Mt Pilot National Park
- Alpine National Park
- Kosciuszko National Park
- Woomargama National Park
- Warby Ovens National Park
- Murray River
- Alans Flat Lake
- Ovens River
- Snowy Creek
- Kiewa River
- Lake Dartmouth
- The Rock nature reserve
- Lake Buffalo.
Duration
Full-time: 1 year
Requirements
There are no formal entry requirements, however the following is strongly advised:
- Applicants have completed Year 12 or are over age 18.
- Applicants need to have reasonable literacy, numeracy and computer skills to be able to engage with online learning and complete written assessments.
- Applicants should show a keen interest to spend many days in the remote outdoors without any urban comforts apart from what they carry.
- Applicants will need to maintain a reasonable level of fitness to be able to perform the physically challenging aspects of the course.
- Applicants will need to be able to carry one-third of your body weight and walk 12 kilometres per day over uneven ground for up to 6 days. Or similarly, be able to paddle 30 kilometres or 6 hours per day for 4 days.
- Applicants will need to be able to swim 200 metres across a lake or a fast-moving river wearing a lifejacket in a reasonable time
- Applicants will need to be willing to abseil over a 50 metre cliff and stay calm and controlled when exposed at heights.
- A volunteer Working With Children Check (Victoria) will be required to participate in some practical assessments. To apply visit the Victorian government's Working with Children Check webpage, https://www.vic.gov.au/working-with-children-check
- There is personal clothing and gear you will need to provide yourself to be able to complete all the activities and excursions that are involved in the course. You do not need all the gear right away, and there are significant discounts available through some suppliers once you are enrolled, but it is an expense you will encounter in the first month if you do not have the correctly clothing and gear already.
Personal clothing/gear:
- Outer Layer - Rain Jacket (waterproof and breathable material, Gore-Tex etc)
- Outer Layer- Rain Pants (waterproof and breathable material, Gore-Tex etc)
- Mid Layer - Pants, Shirt, Fleece (hard-wearing and quick-drying nylon, polyester, polar fleece)
- Base Layer - Underwear that wicks away sweat but also retains warmth. Long johns and long sleeve top, made from polypropylene or merino. (aka thermals)
- Extremities - Gloves, Socks, Beanie, Sun Hat
- Hiking boots - Sturdy soles that will not easily twist sideways, and will hold an edge and support ankles when carrying heavy packs.
- Gaiters - Protecting lower leg below the knee to the ankle when walking off track against snake bite, scratches and rain
- Silva expedition compass (for navigation, search and rescue).
Camping gear:
- Rucksack 75-100 litres. Recommended just one entry through top provides most weatherproof pack, with a quality adjustable harness and some external pockets for water bottle etc
- Tent - light hiking 2 person, 3 season, approx 2.5kg (room for one person to spread out all their gear on short trips, or two people to share on long hikes)
- Sleeping bag - compact water-resistant down with around 700grams of fill. Mummy shape helps save space and weight and are warmer.
- Sleeping Mat - most common is 25mm self-inflating mat full length or three-quarters.
- Cooker - most common is compact butane cooker with a pot and pan
- Head torch.
Assessment
Assessments are often practical and occur on excursions in the field. In addition there are often online learning activities that need to be completed and these can often be social and very collaborative in nature, involves discussions, planning and group work. You will use a simple online learning system called Moodle which stores all the assessments, feedback, and grades for each unit so you can track your progress through the course.
A significant proportion of this course takes place on excursions in uncontrolled natural environments such as remote bushland, lakes, rivers, mountain peaks, cliff faces, and alpine terrain. It can be a physically demanding course and will at times push you to your limits. While all specialised activity gear is supplied, it does require you have your own personal outdoor clothing and camping gear that is of a high quality to be able to manage the conditions and terrain you will be training in. When not in the field, you need to be able to engage with learning online and have reasonably good reading and writing skills as well as computer skills. To be successful you will need to be good at both the practical and the online work.
Note: A volunteer Working With Children Check (Victoria) will be required to participate in some practical assessments. To apply visit the Victorian government's Working with Children Check webpage, https://www.vic.gov.au/working-with-children-check