Strictly speaking this page would normally be considered "under construction", but Scouting doesn't approve of having pages that are under construction, and I can understand that because they can be infruiating. But as we are literally just about to go online with our new BETA site, and as this page was such a last minute idea, I did not want to put up the new site then immediately add this page afterwards and have to change the navigation links on every single page of the site to allow for this new page. So I have built the page into the site, even though at the moment I have not been given the "editorial" to put on it.

Examples of how Helping Scouting can help your career.

My own experience.

When I was considerably younger I was a keen rock climber. Even though I was an experienced climber having initially learned as a boy in Scouts, teaching is very different to doing, so I obviously undertook all the available instructor training available through Scouting. Later after I was fully trained, I found higher level external training offered by the Mountain Leader Training Board, so I enrolled on that off my own back. When Scouting found that I had voulantarily done this they insisted on getting me some Grant Aid towards the cost. I ended up with three different offers of Grants each offering to pay half of the cost of the training. When I eventually completed this training (and passed the practical assessments) I was awarded a National Qualification, which allowed me to work professionally as an instructor and was recognised at every Activity centre in the country. I was also put on a list of qualified instructors at the MLTB.

The next thing that happened was the local Education Authority asked a local Scout Camp site if they could provide a profesionally qualified intructor to teach climbing as part of their A Level Physical Education so I was asked to do it. I agreed because it was my hobby and I loved it, and I honestly only found out that they were actually paying me after I had already started running my courses. Turns out that the pay was set by the Education Authority at £100 per day, that would not be bad now would it? Well it was a fortune when this happened nearly 20 years ago.

See... Welcome to Our Adventure

.

My climbing partners experience.

My rock climbing partner, also achieved the same qualification that I did, and used it (with other qualifications) to become a Qualified Stunt Man. In addition to various qualifications stunt men also need to get the cherished equity card before they can work on a film, (which can present a chicken and egg situation). Equity accepted all the work Peter had done entertaining youngsters at Scout campfires and Scouting activities as enough to get him his first equity card, and he has since appeared as a professional stunt man in several films .

Scouting and Employability

.

Another example

One of my Venture Scouts, was just leaving college and applying for his very first job. He asked another leader and myself to look over his C.V. for mistakes. We both pointed out he had not mentioned his Scouting experience and advised him to revise the C.V. to include it. He was a bit reluctant (at that age Scouting isn't cool), but he accepted our advice. The following week we asked how the job interview went, and he said "fantastic, turns out the interviewer had been a Scout, spent an hour swapping Scouting stories, then asked when he could start". To this day he thinks he got the job because he had been a Scout, he didn't, his Scouting experiences said more about him as a person than any C.V. ever could!

.

Employers prefer practical experience to qualifications

Many people work hard on courses, get the desired qualifiations, then find it's very difficult to get the job they want without actual "hands on" practical expeience. And that is where being involved in Scouting for a time can really help you.

.

Imagine for a moment you were an employer and had two applicants for a book keeping job, both were equally likeable and had identical qualifications, but one had no practical experience, whereas the other had been a Scout Group's Treasurer for a year or so, WHO WOULD YOU HIRE? Yes it's that simple and that obvious! There are a number of essential "behind the scenes" positions, that every Scout group needs to fill, and the truth is we often struggle to fill those positions, more than getting Leaders, but they are equally important and just as necesary. Also while we are just one Scout Group. We are part of a huge international organisation, so if you offer us specialised help that we do not personally need, WE WILL PASS YOUR OFFER ON TO OUR CENTRAL ORGANISATION.

.

Even before Covid working arrangements were changing, our own Treasurer moved from Croydon down to Bournmouth, but decided he could do the job just as well from there, so continued. In other words, many of these admin roles could be undertaken for a Group in desperate need of your skills that is physically hundreds of miles from where you actually live, the world has changed a lot recently, and Scouting has generally kept up, even been at the cutting edge of many of those changes.

Checkout Adults in Scouting