Dozens of resorts need staff for the busy summer months
There are plenty of job opportunities on offer in the great outdoors British weather might be known for rain and wind rather than sunshine, but if you don't fancy being cooped up in an office, there are ways to land a job in the great outdoors.
As well as year-round work, such as gardening and labouring, there are lots of jobs on offer in the UK's holiday and leisure sector. Dozens of resorts need staff for the busy summer months when families or school groups arrive en masse, all expecting organised games and outdoor activities. A recent survey by recruitment firm Monster found the tourism and hospitality sector is booming, with "intense" hiring taking place ahead of the summer months.
According to Andrew Bird, a director of 247recruitment.com, during the six weeks of the summer holidays from July to August there are live-in jobs at summer camps (where food and accommodation are provided), and also non-residential jobs at day camps around London. These jobs typically involve taking charge of sports activities for children aged five to 15. Sports usually include swimming, cricket, football, archery, rock climbing, tennis and canoeing.
Qualifications in a particular sport are usually needed, but there are assistant instructor roles with on-the-job training. They usually pay the minimum wage, and camps run during the week, leaving weekends free. If you'd rather deal with plants than children, London has plenty of gardening jobs on offer.
Marian Barker, of gardening recruitment specialist Anders Plus, says roles range from basic labouring to working for qualified horticulturalists and landscapers.
Wages start from £6 per hour for basic landscaping or grass cutting (no experience needed). Skilled work, such as paving or decking, will pay £10-12 an hour.
Clients "love the Aussies, Kiwis and Saffas" as workers, Barker says. "I think generally they have a higher skill level coming from larger properties in Oz and New Zealand, and a lot of South Africans come from a general farming background. I think that on the whole our clients feel they have a higher work rate, and are fun to work with too."
See www.andersplus.com and www.247recruitment.co.uk
Digging IT
When New Zealander Lane Bunker arrived in the UK, he'd never done any landscaping. But 12 months on, he's a gold medal-winning worker. Bunker, 24, works for a company that provides hard landscaping, such as paving and decking.
One of his recent jobs was setting up a garden at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. The garden, which would have cost up to £400,000 to install in a private home, was so good the judges awarded it gold. "I like the outdoors," Bunker says. "I get a bit of greenery throughout the day, because London can be all concrete — you can get your outdoor fix. "I like the physical exercise, too — I don't have to go to the gym or give a shit about what I eat because I burn it off." He also enjoys travelling to jobs outside London, and working on big homes and estates. And though winter can be cold and dark, working outside in summer makes up for it, he says.
