Bushcraft Instructor vacancy - Oxfordshire
- Thread starter Shewie
- Start date
I think some folk are being very unfair to The Bushcraft Company. They take two dozen kids at a time for their first experience of the woods. Most of them have never been away from their parents before. They're not claiming to deliver back 'mini-Mears', they're giving them a taste of bushcraft.
That said, my son experienced more on his five days with them than I did on the Woodlore Fundamental Bushcraft. Sure, not to the same level of practice, but he was showing me firelighting tricks of which I was unaware.
He also did their winter wilderness before Christmas - -8 degrees at night, they made their own snowshoes and carved butter knives, cooked stews, slept in tipis. The pictures of the camp setup looked every bit as good as the Woodlore site.
If you're serious about being a bushcraft instructor then you probably wouldn't want the job anyway, it's as much about riot control as woodlore
But Alex and the team have spotted a niche in the market and done a very good job of filling it. They're delivering out kids who are enthused about bushcraft and more aware of what goes on in the woods. One day those kids will be Full Members on BCUK. All power to them.[No connection other than being the father of a very satisfied customer...]
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I went for an interview with the Bushcraft company and i have mixed feeling about it! My first impressions was what a beautiful place its situated in, right in the heart of Oxford with deer all over the shop and massive amounts of woodland! That is about all that i have to say that is good about this company!!! I first saw the position via a outdoor job search site and couldn't believe my luck when i saw it! The add was asking for young people with an interested or experience in bushcraft! I seemed i had struck gold, i had found a company that wanted young people to train up and take school groups throughout the year!
I went along to my interview, travelling from the east Mids to Oxford staying in a motel over night and got there bright and early in the morning! I was greeted by one of the staff and taken into the lobby were i found a truly mixed age group of people, me being the youngest at 22! After standing around for 10 mins not knowing what was going on another member of staff came and took a picture of me on a phone for 'interview purposes'. after that we were separated and informed on what the interview would entail and was driven to the wood! To cut a long story short we were had to light a **** wet through fire with one bit of cotton wool and a fire striker. (easier said than done) then a few other activities through the day. finally we had one to ones with the staff, and i ended up with the founder Alex! Not only was he abrupt and unwelcoming but he didn't once look me in the eyes when i was talking to him and my first impressions were not great to say the least!!! I still went home feeling confident i was still in with a chance as i felt i had done my best..
As soon as i got back to Derby i contacted the bushcraft company and asked when i would find out if i was successfully or not, i didn't hear back from them till a week after the 3 day period they had originally said they would take to contact people and when i did, it wasn't good news either.. just a short message saying i was unsuccessful and there wear people with more experience! (Im an activity instructor and have taken solo large groups on summer camps and have done bushcraft since a very early age to top.) So the end result was a company that advertised training to become an instructor but obviously doesn't..
All round a big waist of time and money!
I send a final email to them asking for some constructive feed back to help me in my fucher endevers and i got a poor letter letter not even explaing anything to do with what i had asked for, and to top it they addressed it to a Richard when my names Matt. Not a GOOD LOOK FOR THE COMPANY!
I went along to my interview, travelling from the east Mids to Oxford staying in a motel over night and got there bright and early in the morning! I was greeted by one of the staff and taken into the lobby were i found a truly mixed age group of people, me being the youngest at 22! After standing around for 10 mins not knowing what was going on another member of staff came and took a picture of me on a phone for 'interview purposes'. after that we were separated and informed on what the interview would entail and was driven to the wood! To cut a long story short we were had to light a **** wet through fire with one bit of cotton wool and a fire striker. (easier said than done) then a few other activities through the day. finally we had one to ones with the staff, and i ended up with the founder Alex! Not only was he abrupt and unwelcoming but he didn't once look me in the eyes when i was talking to him and my first impressions were not great to say the least!!! I still went home feeling confident i was still in with a chance as i felt i had done my best..
As soon as i got back to Derby i contacted the bushcraft company and asked when i would find out if i was successfully or not, i didn't hear back from them till a week after the 3 day period they had originally said they would take to contact people and when i did, it wasn't good news either.. just a short message saying i was unsuccessful and there wear people with more experience! (Im an activity instructor and have taken solo large groups on summer camps and have done bushcraft since a very early age to top.) So the end result was a company that advertised training to become an instructor but obviously doesn't..
All round a big waist of time and money!
I send a final email to them asking for some constructive feed back to help me in my fucher endevers and i got a poor letter letter not even explaing anything to do with what i had asked for, and to top it they addressed it to a Richard when my names Matt. Not a GOOD LOOK FOR THE COMPANY!
Reading the COWBOYS (Matt) post I think this company has a lot to learn, I myself have had the great pleasure in teaching young men how to walk in straight lines and fire weapons and iron uniforms and find it amusing that Alex does not want anyone with more skills or knowledge than himself. As I get the opinion that this is a closed shop of ols boy network. I shall keep an eye on this company.
Sometimes companies are looking for a blank board to write on, their way. Approach and attitude might be indicators and don't forget the younger you are the cheaper you are!
Perhaps they wanted someone that was young, malleable but had been enthusiasticly living the dream since a kid.
Perhaps they wanted someone that was young, malleable but had been enthusiasticly living the dream since a kid.
I was prepared to give this company a bit of slack but from what I'm hearing my initial impressions may be correct. I only live a few miles from where they are based and also got in touch about the positions but didn't get an interview. After some repeated communication I did receive an email saying that they had put me on file and may be in touch in the future.
After reading your posts I think perhaps I should have not listed my training/experience/age but then what would have I had to offer if I didn't? Unfortunately I have come accross this in industry too - one company I applied for a position at said I was over qualified for the role. I think that meant they couldn't afford to pay me a reasonable salary.
I see what your saying but just because they are successful doesn't mean they are good. It means they may be giving people what they think they need rather than what they need.
Plenty of companies like that!
Hang on, something doesn't seem right.
On their website it says he's worked alongside Ray Mears for 8 years before founding the company.
He founded the company aged 23.
On their website it says he's worked alongside Ray Mears for 8 years before founding the company.
He founded the company aged 23.
There are a few possible explanations...
If you're concerned email them and ask them to explain...
or email wood lore if you really want an honest answer with out any kind of self promotion creeping in, not a bad thing just a possibility,
Setting aside the claims about being a full-blown Woodlore instructor (yeah, I know...)
My lad has just returned from his annual week away with them, and he LOVED it - again. They're entirely focussed on kids' outdoor holidays, a little more like Forest School Camps without the hippy element that I remember from my youth. Not hard-core bushcraft, more about getting them out in the woods to do fun stuff. Making bivis, swimming in the lake, carving, building traps, night games etc etc.
The instructors are all fairly young, and there's a dominant public school background to both instructors and clients - if you dig out the article off their website, that's because they struggle to get ordinary schools to engage, state head teachers have become inured to the "Health and Safety Says No" mindset.
Happy to answer questions from a client perspective, drop me a PM.
My lad has just returned from his annual week away with them, and he LOVED it - again. They're entirely focussed on kids' outdoor holidays, a little more like Forest School Camps without the hippy element that I remember from my youth. Not hard-core bushcraft, more about getting them out in the woods to do fun stuff. Making bivis, swimming in the lake, carving, building traps, night games etc etc.
The instructors are all fairly young, and there's a dominant public school background to both instructors and clients - if you dig out the article off their website, that's because they struggle to get ordinary schools to engage, state head teachers have become inured to the "Health and Safety Says No" mindset.
Happy to answer questions from a client perspective, drop me a PM.
hi prophecy, what happened?
i retired from teaching in may so defo NOT a youngster, looking for something that might be fun to add a few pennies to my pension, saw jobs advertised yesterday, whizzed off a form and cv and this morning i have been invited to an assessment day in march
A friend of mine worked for the bushcraft company last summer, he's not going back this year, I suppose that says something.
Cheers,
Stuart.
Cheers,
Stuart.
it probably does say something but no telling what it says... maybe they wouldnt have him back, maybe it didnt suit him, maybe he has other work, maybe they didnt pay enough..... but i would be interested to know the reasons?
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