Advanced skills course

[Blood]

Mods if this has been covered many times I apologise but I've read and searched and can't really find an answer satisfactory for me...

I have been learning skills for the past 15 years on and off, everything from sewing leather, woodworking with basic tools, camp craft, fire skills and basic tracking. Now I want to consolidate and confirm all my personal training by attend a lengthy course. Being ex-forces I already have a lot of skill ingrained within me.

But how on earth may I choose one simply by the websites feedback and from the description. I expect to pay well over the £500 mark for the privilege of an advanced course so I want to hear that my time and cash is well spent, giving me a recognised qualification to move further forward in the skills to a potential life changing path.

What are your recommendations and experiences of attend one of these...

Many thanks, Mike

 

[Mesquite]

What courses are you actually wanting to do?

That will make it easier to give feedback and recommendations

 

[Blood]

I have read about the NCFE recognised quals, are they actually worth what they are printed on?

Ideally a course suited to someone that has the essential skills but want to hone them to a better level. Bow drill, game stalking and trapping and prepping, preserving and foraging, making more of things found rather than taken with you, less kit more knowledge fundamentals... Not after much I know!!

 

[swotty]

Have a look at the Wayfarers course with Survival School, I did it a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Covers most of the things you mentioned over 5 days in the wilds of Scotland.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Theres also
-native with woodsmoke
-intermediate with frontier bushcraft
-advanced craft skills with wilderness suvival skills
-traditional living skills with woodlore

I can recommend the teams at woodlore, woodsmoke and frontier bushcraft through first hand experience
wilderness survival skills I havent studied with yet ( to change as of weekend after this un) but I've heard excellent things about them

 

[Blood]

Thanks MoT. Will be bearing down on them tonight to scour the pages.
Incidently, I would like to thank you for the posts re the Boone challenge. I am going to see if I can literally be this way all of the time, more wilderness than glamping from a meet or two I have been to...

 

[Man of Tanith]

He he he its only because one of those off the list is the next big course I want to do......
so I've been researching em for a while.


boone is fun but in this weather I'm glad of my bivi bag instead of blanket roll

 

[Thetillerman71]

Thoroughly recommend the wilderness Survival Skills week long wilderness awakening 2 course - did it last year and was a game changer in terms of skill level

 

[Mesquite]

Have a look at the courses with Patrick McGlinchey at Backwoods Survival School as well

 

[Jackdaw]

Patrick and Backwoods gets the thumbs up from me but being ex military I think you will be better served doing what I do. Identify a specific weakness and then go on a course to rectify it. Game stalking for example - I went up to Scotland and stalked Red Deer with a Ghillie for a week. Already being a professional firearms user will mean you don't have to go through the usual training/learning a civvy does but means you can focus on the stalking side more. Plant ID - I'm an ecologist so was lucky enough to be taught this whilst at uni but the Field Studies Council do excellent courses on plant ID which you can add to by getting specific-to-bushcraft books like Food For Free by Richard Mabey.

Doing these specific courses will mean you will have more indepth knowledge than someone who has gone on a bushcraft course (personal experience, not looking for an argument here). You can then test yourself by actually going on expeds to places like Norway or Poland where you can really get out there and put it all in to practice. You don't need someone else to tell you that you are any good as you will quickly work it out. Most of the skills we use in bushcraft are easily practiced at home. However, if a certificate is important to you then I would go down the lines of the Mountain Leader (Summer) qualification as it makes people a lot more comfortable with all the things you say you're going to teach. It certainly helped my insurance company keep the prices down.

 

[Bluffer]

I was going to recommend an exped with a bushcraft company instead of a course, but other posters seem to pretty much cover it all.

As Jackdaw says, identify a niche weak area and do something 'out of the box' to really nail it.

 

[Blood]

Patrick and Backwoods gets the thumbs up from me but being ex military I think you will be better served doing what I do. Identify a specific weakness and then go on a course to rectify it. Game stalking for example - I went up to Scotland and stalked Red Deer with a Ghillie for a week. Already being a professional firearms user will mean you don't have to go through the usual training/learning a civvy does but means you can focus on the stalking side more. Plant ID - I'm an ecologist so was lucky enough to be taught this whilst at uni but the Field Studies Council do excellent courses on plant ID which you can add to by getting specific-to-bushcraft books like Food For Free by Richard Mabey.

Doing these specific courses will mean you will have more indepth knowledge than someone who has gone on a bushcraft course (personal experience, not looking for an argument here). You can then test yourself by actually going on expeds to places like Norway or Poland where you can really get out there and put it all in to practice. You don't need someone else to tell you that you are any good as you will quickly work it out. Most of the skills we use in bushcraft are easily practiced at home. However, if a certificate is important to you then I would go down the lines of the Mountain Leader (Summer) qualification as it makes people a lot more comfortable with all the things you say you're going to teach. It certainly helped my insurance company keep the prices down.

Thanks jackdaw, that's an option I had not really considered, especially the ghillie experience. Fire arms is a breeze and so is marksmanship for me, I shot at Bisley for the RN and later for the UK for Five years.
I am harbouring little thoughts towards the teaching side because my boys are in a Forest club at school and the things they are teaching them is poor or incorrect. Like I said, little whispers in me noggin

More scrolling to be done....

 

[Bluffer]

If you really want an instructor course, the Survival School are registered with ELCAS (if you have spare enhanced learning credits left from your forces days).

 

[Blood]

If you really want an instructor course, the Survival School are registered with ELCAS (if you have spare enhanced learning credits left from your forces days).

Ooooooh, there's a thought! Thanks for that

 

[Bluffer]

Glad to help shippers

 

[The Ratcatcher]

NCFE do provide a properly accredited and recognised course, which consists of 10 5-day modules over one year. The modules cost £295 each, and lead to the NCFE Bushcraft Leader Award. If you are planning teaching outdoor skills, you could also consider the Institute for Outdoor Learning. The IOL Registered Practitioner and Accredited Practitioner Qualifications are well known and recognised.

Hope this helps.

Alan.

 

[Blood]

Many thanks everyone for pointing me to what appear to be some excellent schools. I have at least narrowed down what to look for and will be calling them up in due course to have a natter.
Cheers

 

[johnboe522]

Survival school are really good, all courses are NFCE levels and the ELCAS is a bouns. I have done lost of training with them, being ex forces myself

 

[JulesC]

I'm interested in the fact that no-one mentioned Woodland Ways 1 year or 2 year courses, they are a lot more that £500, but they were not on the list. Anyone have experience of them? I've met the Wilderness Survival Skills and read Joe's book, also read lots of Paul Kirtley stuff at Frontier so would give these guys a thumbs up.