Golden Triangle of Employability.

I am in the same position as every soon to be graduate. The uncertainty of what the future holds does lead to the ‘struggle’. In case of me, it is often the anxiety of whether current situation will pay off in terms of employment and whether it is indeed worth the debt.


 

Transport:

Getting to and from work is something that can be the easiest of tasks, or not. I am in the minority of the people whom I know who do not drive. This comes with huge setbacks when on internship, the main one being making the most of the area where the internship is based – for example, the mountaineering Lake District offers being out of reach.

To work in an industry where a significant amount of work uses natural venues to which the instructors need to get to suggests to me that the next steps need to focus on starting to drive. This is to create a solid foundation which will support gaining further qualifications, experience and employment.

Experience: 

My personal goal focuses on being the best I can be, on the job and outside of it. What this means is that when attending assessments I want to feel like I have given myself the best chance as well as asking myself the question of ‘would I want someone with my experience to look after my little sister in the field. The qualification system offers some reassurance a ‘pass’ is only a sign of the minimum criteria being met.

So what do I think of myself and my experience? I reckon it’s ‘alright’ though it could be better. The range of what I have done is relatively good – Via Ferrata, assisting in developing a sports crag, unsupported crossing of Norwegian national park, some scrambling, climbing and mountaineering experience. Fantastic! Could I look after my sister? Yes. Am I the best I can be? No. One of the things I feel I lack is volume – to change that I need transport...


Qualifications:

One of the biggest difficulties I am facing revolves around the finances and the “golden triangle of employability” – a projection of the current ‘struggle’. The idea being that in order to secure employment you need.

As mentioned previously, qualifications are the proof that you are capable of operating within the remit that they lay out. They are essential when working with under 18s and not bad to have in general. Where do I stand? Well, almost the very bottom of the food chain – I am CWA qualified, SPA (Trained) & ML (Trained)… All land based qualifications which admittedly take away from the ‘well rounded’ land & water kind of instructor I should be. Personally, this is something I may address in the future, but it is not a priority.

Conclusion:

As you can probably notice, the golden triangle of employability is just that, you need all three to ‘be ready’ yet to obtain all three is incredibly hard (for me anyway) and requires a significant investment which I have not spread over the years.

So where does the internship come into this? Spending 4 months in India and 8 months working for an expedition company within the Lake District is a fantastic experience. Whilst the majority of my work does not contribute directly towards NGBs; the knowledge of the ‘inner workings’ of the industry which normally comes at a supervisory/managerial level. The experience of different environments I will be able to experience (I have been within the Arctic Circle and in India but the Mt. Elbrus and Polish tatras will be happening after the submission date of this blog) is a big addition to the logbook and very valuable but bizarrely enough does not count towards my basic qualifications.

Having spent a long time to think things through I have come to the conclusion that the ultimate priority is making myself easier to employ is the key and the employability does not have to be outdoor-specific. Investing in being able to drive will open a lot of experience opportunities which otherwise are inaccessible. A huge addition to that is my belief that it will help me enjoy my personal life a lot more. So that is what will happen.

The purpose of internship. Win-win scenario?

It makes sense to me that logically an applicant with previous work experience will appear more attractive to an employer then an applicant who lacks it. In my experience, getting an internship is not hard although getting a ‘good one’. These thoughts and experiences are put through scrutiny of deeper analysis and academic evidence below:

Evidence suggests that having work experience enhances the attractiveness of a graduate to an employer (Jones & Wornock, 2015; Silva, Lopes, Cosra, Seabra, Melo, Brito & Dias, 2016; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). Research suggests this affects graduates of both undergraduates and doctorate students ((Jones & Wornock, 2015; Silva, Lopes, Cosra, Seabra, Melo, Brito & Dias, 2016). A study conducted by Tomlinson (2008) revealed that students often go to university due to perception that degree offers better job prospects in the future (p. 52-55).  The same study identifies that in some industries the high volume of graduates leads to ‘oversaturation’ of the job market; leading to a fiercer competition in gaining both employment and internships (Tomlinson, 2008; Leonard, Halford, Bruxe, 2016). The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that internships/work experience has become a way of standing out on the job market. The same conclusion goes against my experience of finding internships reasonably easy – suggesting there may be some variability / other factors involved.

This has definitely been one of the reasons why I have decided to dedicate one year of my life to becoming an intern. In addition to that I have other reasons, more specific to myself with some being personal rather than professional. As it has been noted I have made a big decision to ‘switch’ internships from HOB India to Exped Adventure – the reasons were simply that Exped Adventure was more suitable for me and my aspirations. These include guiding expeditions and being more involved in all aspects of the business.

Having been part of Exped for four months now I can happily report I am satisfied with the transfer and would do so again in a heartbeat despite some great experiences at HOB. During the four months I have been given trust and responsibility to both support existing operations as well as come up with new solutions to existing dynamics – such as designing new systems and databases. As I am ‘pioneering’ the intern concept within the company the learning curve has been at times steep and there is no shortage of challenges – this means t

REFERENCES:

Jones, H, & Warnock, L 2015, 'When a PhD is not enough A case study of a UK internship programme to enhance the employability of doctoral researchers', Higher Education, Skills And Work-Based Learning, 5, 3, p. 212-227

Shade, L, & Jacobson, J 2015, 'Hungry for the job: gender, unpaid internships, and the creative industries', Sociological Review Monograph, 63, S1, p. 188

Silva, P, Lopes, B, Costa, M, Seabra, D, Melo, A, Brito, E, & Dias, G 2016, 'Stairway to employment? Internships in higher education', Higher Education, 72, 6, pp. 703-721

Hardanger blog

Having just come back from Hardangervidda plateau I thought it would be of value to share my experience with anyone who may be interested. Be it a potential ‘plateau-crosser’ or a mere mortal simply curious in this kind of event.



In my experience, there are many causes why any form of expeditioning may appeal. To me it is the feeling of being in charge of my own destiny – when in the field you often rely on yourself and the team mates in order to ensure safety and generally have a good time. A good example of this is  lighting the stove, on Hardangervidda you will be lighting a stove inside the tent porch for hours a day – doing so independently, safely and responsibly with full awareness that setting the tent alight isn’t desirable. Other examples include looking after each other, sharing responsibilities and so on.
There is a significant number of things on these expeditions where you get to use your own initiative to help you achieve your (+team) goals in the best way. Other, more cliché reasons for signing up revolve around the desire to see the world and the enjoyment of a ‘good old challenge’
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Signing up:

This is (at this stage) one of the trickier parts of ending up on an expedition. I often hear people talking themselves out of the challenge despite clear interest. This is normally due to ‘not being fit/tough/young/old/ready’ enough at the present time. While I somewhat understand the intimidation of something so unfamiliar and challenging as an arctic crossing it is worth mentioning that you WILL get answers and WILL have the support and opportunity to make sure that you are ready for when the time comes.

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Training weekend:

By this stage I was already well into my research into the things I might need and what to expect. Armed with the biggest fattest and reddest down jacket I could find I felt ready for the adventure. Or so I thought.

During the training weekend you get to familiarise yourself with the equipment you will be using, the hilleberg tents, stoves, shovels, snowshoes, boots and so on. More importantly you will be able to meet the other people on your expedition, your leaders and get to know / plan your route. I found it pretty informative to find myself in a room of people who have completed the same challenge (Svalbard training weekend took place on the same weekend, many see Hardangervidda as a stepping stone to Svalbard).

One thing that definitely stood out is the repeated message, reminding everyone of the fact that whichever trip we are attending, they are at a level of challenge which should be respected. This means personal fitness, suitable equipment and respecting the environment you will be in.

I must say, at the time I thought I understood it, having now completed the expedition. I know I could have understood it some more.

Looking back on it, the training is DEFINETELY worth attending and should be seen as a necessity rather than an extra.

The Trip:

Following the training I have gotten back into the old routine of working, sleeping and eating with some training mixed in. It is absolutely amazing how quick the time between the training and sitting on an aeroplane comes around. Staying focused on the training is a little tricky but by far the best thing you can do to help yourself later on as you walk uphill very slowly – all too aware of the presence of the pulk behind you.

It all happened very quickly, I won’t describe the fun adventure that awaits you with relocating anywhere with the pulks and the baggage but I guarantee it will be well worth the fun. After that, we went back to the hostel, went to the train station and enjoyed the 4 hour train ride to our starting point.  The train journey is an enjoyable one, as the time passes you get to see less and less of urban Norway and more of its natural side. The views are great – so are the waffles in the restaurant carriage. I saw this as an opportunity to get to know the other guys (no ladies on this trip this time), enjoy a last minute read and update my diary. I guess this is the time to relax before a hard weeks graft.

As we got off the train and offloaded our pulks much to the amusement of the Norwegian population I have gotten a sudden realisation that I’m about to embark on a week-long crossing on the arctic. This wasn’t a surprise but it only just sank in. It felt pretty cool. Having done the administrative tasks of repacking our trusty sleds off we went into towards the white horizon.

The experience of pulling a pulk ‘into the white’ is a funky one – if, like me, you have not done this before you simply put one foot in front of the other (and there is an art to it if wearing snowshoes) pondering what to expect. As you plod along you get to (try at least) enjoy the scenic views of the Hardangervidda. Having been to Spain, Poland, Italy and India in the last year I was surprised to be surprised at the beauty of the place. The views, unlike all the others mentioned above, would look exactly the same on a black and white photograph as they would in colour but remain incredibly vivid. As a self-confessed views connoisseur I will happily give Hardangervidda 9/10. It’s beautiful.

It would be a lie if I said I found the first two days easy. New to it all I struggled grasping the concept that each day has a beginning, duration and the end.  What I mean by that is as the day went on I was unable to see the end of ‘suffer fest’ that pulling a pulk was and it has definitely been noticed that the plateau was a lot more ‘bumpy’ than expected. Looking back at it, I put these feelings down quite simply to inexperience. When melting snow I came to a sudden realisation that it isn’t the plateau that is wearing me down but I’m allowing myself to wear myself down. As I was sat there filling my diary I decided to change a few things. These were:

- Wear my wrist warmers.
- Keep snacks on tap.
- Use the flask for holding hot water during the day, not just to save time in the morning for breakfast.
- Drink more.
- Eat more.
- Be a little more efficient with ‘own time’ – if melting snow, rather than watching water boil make the most of the time and read, write and hum to sublime.
- Do not sit down when feeling tired later in the day until the day is over.

These seven seemingly little things made the glass half full again. The mother of all hot-aches decided to leave me alone once the wrist warmers were on.  The front pocket of my salopettes was loaded with the snacks from the ration packs every day to make sure I can snack whenever I want and chocolate is not teeth-breakingly tough thanks to  the ‘fire within’. Every longer break was accompanied by a hot drink and the free time was spent either resting or on doing things which I genuinely enjoy doing amongst the other necessities. Man it made a difference! The following days were still tough and challenging, but it was embraceable and seriously good fun. My mind started wandering and soon enough I was attempting to interpret the ground as well as reminiscing over the ups and downs of the last 22 years. Trips like these allow me to reinforce my view that all I want is a happy, simple life and more expeditions.

It is extremely satisfying to experience the constant improvement in basic things such as putting the tent up, working the stove or mastering the technique of staying comfortable in a place which does not lend itself to it. As silly as it sounds, these things really do provide a great deal of joy – as I hope you have/will get to find out J. The rest of the week pretty much continued to bring a great deal of challenge and joy. I shall leave the last day as a surprise – but other than getting your head into gear at the beginning it is definitely the biggest challenge.

When you (almost) finish you will reach a ski-skating track which will lead you to your pick up spot and then to the hostel where you will have a chance to take a shower for the first time in a little while. Throughout the time I was in the similar ‘deer in the headlights’ state I was in right at the beginning of the trip. One thing I realised pretty soon was that I learnt loads and it was absolutely worth it.

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Two weeks after:

Being taken from the expedition bubble and thrown back into working life is a brutal experience, ideally, if you can, get some rest, if you can’t – try anyway. Often as I sat in the office and looked outside the window my mind seemed to wander to the ‘good old times’ where life was simple, routines predictable and no bridges were being built within few metres of where I am sat. Luckily enough I already have a big adventure to look forward to (Elbrus this june) and many smaller ones to be had in the Lake District before that. One thing about these trips is that they definitely build appetite.

Experiential learning of experiential learnee.

To those who care, or those who don't but have nothing better to do then read my blog here comes the news: I'm back in the UK. This has been caused by a series of unexpected events followed by a series of unexpected events - I am as pleased as I am surprised that I'm writing this from the Lake District. This is due to starting a brand new cushy internship for a Lakes based expedition company.

Whilst this is (to me, for me) undoubtedly an upgrade over the previous role for various reasons which are not the purpose of this blog. The point is, once I had the offer I left my previous post in a similar fashion to this video:

I have left India in a positive state of mind and learnt the following (list is inspired by the amazing post of Andy Kirkpatrick): Why experiential learning? Because many of these were reinfornced/reached by adventures out there.

Here comes:

1) Makaks are pricks.

2) Langurs are lovely, but can be pricks.

3) Don't take selfies - it looks stupid.

4) Don't let people take selfies with you if they only do it because you're white - its stupid.

5) Don't let people make coffee based just because they say they can (ADELA!!!).

6) Time is limited - be productive.

7) Being productive does does not mean not having a minute to sit down.

8) Think what you stand for, and stand for it.

9) Appreciate your family (if you're as lucky as I am, and have a rather lovely one).

10) When in a shit creek, just keep swimming.

11) Feelings; the ones that matter are rarely uncovered.

12) "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." (ripped off Aristotle).

13) Don't be a sheep.

14) Me time is important.

15) Drugs are bad. Drink is bad. 

16) Bad things in moderation are fine.

17) Do what you believe in, or don't.

18) Appreciate not everyone does what they love.

19) Riding a moped is easy - if breaks, lights and horn work and you're not on a mountain road.

20) Some problems