The Outward Bound Canada
Training Academy

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program, the Outward Bound Canada Training Academy for Outdoor Professionals (the “Training Academy”) will recruit and train a new generation of outdoor leaders!

The Training Academy, which launched in the spring of 2022, will increase employment in the outdoor leadership sector. It will also encourage an inclusive candidate pool to ensure that Canada’s outdoor sector employees better represent Canada’s diversity.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw more Canadians than ever enjoying Canada’s natural spaces. Yet, the Canadian outdoors sector also saw unprecedented employee attrition, creating labour shortages that threaten the long-term viability of the industry.

Additionally, the outdoors sector has long acknowledged a lack of diversity within its workforce. One reason for this is the ongoing socio-economic barriers for individuals from traditionally marginalized communities to access learning and development opportunities within the industry.

Although this is a complex issue to address, the flexible model of the Training Academy – along with its free cost and inclusive content – has been built to maximize access and reduce barriers to participation by underrepresented groups.

The Training Academy will:

• Provide Canada’s outdoor industry with a candidate pool of highly-trained, diverse professionals;
• Produce graduates that have well-rounded, desirable skills sets and experiences that will set them up for success in the broader Canadian job market;
• Draw upon a focussed curriculum that encompasses technical skills, resilience, social-emotional learning, and environmental leadership;
• Maximize access and reduce barriers to participation by underrepresented groups;
• Be free for all participants;
• Balance in-field, in-class and virtual education over eight weeks; and
• Offer ongoing training sessions: please check the schedule for dates in your region.