Seasonal Instructor - El Asquith

Please could you introduce yourself and describe what you do.

Hi, I'm El and I’m a Programme Coordinator for Asia Adventure Sport. I have worked in the outdoors for over 10 years. I mainly work with school groups - coordinating and running programmes from primary up to secondary. Occasionally private clients too but not as much. 

How long have you been in Hong Kong for?

Just over four years. 

What appeals to you about Hong Kong? Why did you end up in Hong Kong? 

I knew nothing about HK before I came here. I ended up in HK because I needed a job in a hurry. We got kicked off our site in France where I was working with just 48 hours notice, so I needed a job in a hurry and Treasure Island were advertising. I'd never really been to Asia before and Hong Kong looked like a cool place and a good base to explore Asia from. It didn't exactly go to plan as I arrived mid protests and then COVID happened. 

So what appeals to you about working in Hong Kong and how come you are still here? 

There's surprisingly easy access to very good outdoors, more so than I ever realised before I arrived. I think a lot of people don't realise. I think it's also a place where it is really important that the children we work with here are exposed to the outdoors because they live in tower blocks and don't have that access to play and outdoor space in a lot of ways. So I think it's really valuable for the kids that we have here.  And it’s hot and sunny! It’s a nice environment to be in. 

How do you describe a normal work week for yourself?

That doesn't exist. Normal does not really exist and some weeks can be super long hours, with overnights, with kids on site, running around, trying to organise everything and making sure everyone's safe and having fun. Some weeks will be in the office, writing programs, designing stuff.  Some weeks we’ll be running training. Some weeks we’ll be recce-ing and getting out and finding stuff. A lot of laminating and making resources or a mixture of all above, all at the same time when it's busy, and then not much going on, when it's not.  

What do you love about your work? 

All of it. I think I really realised that the outdoors was the industry I wanted to be in forever when I was happier working outside on bad weather days than being in the office. Just being on a hill in the rain is always better than being inside. We actually make a difference to the people we are with and just sharing something I really care about and feel passionate about. If I can get one other person excited about just being outdoors in any way, it doesn't even need to be in the way that I like the outdoors. Just appreciating what we have and respecting it and looking after it. It's super cool 

What are some of the negative aspects of your work?

It’s really unpredictable, and there’s almost no [income] security. Even more so because I’ve mainly been seasonal or freelance [worker].  

Really unpredictable times off.  For example, only knowing what I'm doing a day in advance…if I'm lucky. 

But on the flip side to that, I have big periods of time off that I can travel, which is really nice. But when it is busy, it is busy busy. Like you're on! Or you’re on site all week with the kids. It is a lot, but then you also get the time off separately when you've got time to go and do your own adventures and things. 

What training or experience do you need to get into your type of work?

Absolutely nothing to start with!  I think people can come in with no experience. I didn't do a degree in outdoor ed[ucation] purely because most of the things that you do on a course, I'd already done by that point. I had my level one Paddlesport. I had my basic climbing qual[ifications].  I'd done them growing up with the centre I was involved with. So, I went straight into just apprenticeship stuff where you learn everything and the same sort of things as you would on a degree course, but while you do the job.

I think, actually, that's a really good way for anyone to get into the industry because you learn all of the skills about actually working with your clients and the kids and the teachers and the public that you don't necessarily learn on courses. And they’ll often pay for your courses and quals as well, which makes it more accessible for a lot of people because they're not super cheap. 

What advice do you have for people looking to start a career in this line of work? 

I think it depends on what you’re after generally.  I started doing seasonal work. So I worked 4-6 months in a place and then I moved on and because a lot of places only have seasons that long or the summer season was that long. Say, like the Middle East UAE season is seven months. Iceland's season is only four months. Their summers are quite short. Um, and then it starts getting dark and you're into snowsports.  Snowsports isn't really my vibe.  But the hours we worked were ridiculous and we didn’t get any days off.  France season was only about five months.  

So I just follow the sun around pretty much. But I think that's a really good way. When you are  doing seasonal work you see different attitudes, different ways of doing things, different location, different skills.  You make lots of different contacts because everyone knows everyone.  And then decide if it is for you and where you want to be based,and what kind of clients you want to work with. You get to try out all of those variables before you kind of settle into a longer term role.

Thank you for taking the time today to share your experiences.  Anything you would like to add?

That the outdoors is for everyone, and it doesn't have to be in a super adventurous way for people to enjoy it or learn from it or be involved in it. When I go out to the outdoors in my own time, I want to be planning something cool or paddling over a waterfall, but that doesn't mean that's the only way to enjoy the outdoors and I think that people see it as something that's quite inaccessible. It could be as much as just going and finding a park to sit in and just being aware of what’s around you and listening to the birds. It doesn't have to be something complicated or technical or something expensive.

 Nice. Thank you very much. 

-end-

Translated with AI.

你好,我是 El,我是亞洲探險運動計劃的項目協調員。我已經在戶外工作超過10年了。我主要與學校團體合作 - 從小學到中學,協調和組織各種計劃。偶爾也會有私人客戶,但相對沒有那麼多。

你在香港待了多久了?

剛好四年多一點。

你對香港有什麼感覺?你為什麼最終會來到香港?

我在來到這裡之前對香港一無所知。我最後來到香港是因為我迫切需要一份工作。我之前在法國工作的時候,我們被突然要求在48小時內離開現場,所以我急需找一份工作。幸好Treasure Island正在招聘,所以我來到了香港。我之前從未真正到過亞洲,香港看起來是個不錯的地方,也是我探索亞洲的好據點。不過事情並沒有完全按計劃進行,因為我到達的時候正值香港示威活動期間,之後又遇到了疫情。

那麼你對在香港工作有什麼感覺?你為什麼會一直留在這裡呢?

我意外地發現香港戶外資源非常豐富,比我原先想象的要好得多。我想很多人都沒有意識到這一點。我認為這也是一個我們工作的目標群體很需要的地方,因為他們大多住在高樓大廈,很難接觸到室外遊玩的空間。所以為這裡的孩子們提供戶外體驗是非常有價值的。而且香港氣候炎熱和陽光充足,這也是一個不錯的環境。

你能描述一下你的普通工作週嗎?

並不存在所謂的"普通"工作週。有時工作時間會很長,會有通宵和帶孩子們外出的活動,我們需要到處奔走,努力組織一切,確保每個人的安全和快樂。有時會在辦公室,編寫計劃,設計東西。有時會進行培訓。有時會外出視察,發掘新的資源。大量的裱貼和製作教材,或是以上所有的混合,當工作很忙的時候;但也有一些閒散的時候。

你最喜歡你的工作的什麼地方?

所有的一切。我真正意識到,戶外行業是我一直想投身的領域,是因為在惡劣天氣下在室外工作,我比待在辦公室裡更加快樂。只是站在一座小山丘上,在雨中,總是比待在室內好。我們確實能為我們接觸的人們帶來積極影響,分享我真正關心和熱衷的事物。如果我能激發其他人對戶外的熱愛,哪怕只是一點點,不一定要像我一樣喜歡戶外,只要能欣賞我們所擁有的,尊重和保護它,這已經是非常酷的事了。

你工作中有什麼負面因素嗎?

工作非常不可預測,幾乎沒有收入保障。這在我主要做臨時或自由職業工作的情況下尤其如此。

休息時間也非常不固定。比如,有時我甚至只能提前一天知道自己要做什麼。

但另一方面,我也有很長的休息時間可以外出旅行,這真的很棒。不過在忙碌的時候,真的是忙到不行。比如你一整週都在現場和孩子們在一起。工作量很大,但之後你又有大把時間可以自己出去冒險。

要從事你這樣的工作,需要什麼樣的培訓或經驗?

完全不需要任何經驗就可以開始!我想很多人都可以在沒有任何經驗的情況下加入這個行業。我沒有直接接受過戶外教育的學位課程,主要是因為在那之前我已經做了很多相關的事情。我有划船運動的一級資格認證。我有一些基本的攀登資格。這些都是在我小時候就參與過的活動中學到的。所以我直接進入了一種實習式的工作,在實際工作中學習各種技能,與在學位課程中學到的差不多。

我認為這是一個非常好的進入這個行業的方式,因為你不僅能學到各種技能,還能學習如何與客戶、孩子們、老師和公眾互動,這是課程無法完全教會你的。而且很多公司還會出資讓你參加培訓和取得相關資格認證,這對很多人來說是非常有助的,因為這些培訓課程並不便宜。

您對想要進入這一行業的人有什麼建議?

我想這要根據你想要追求的目標而定。我最初做的是季節性工作。所以我會在一個地方工作4-6個月,然後換個地方。因為很多地方的旺季只有這麼長,比如中東阿聯酋的旺季是7個月,冰島的只有4個月。在那裡冬天天氣很暗,滑雪就不是我的事了。但我們在那裡工作的時間是非常長的,幾乎沒有休息日。法國的旺季只有大約5個月。

所以我基本上就是追著陽光到處跑。我認為這是一個非常好的方式。在做季節性工作的時候,你可以看到不同的工作態度、做事方式、地點和技能要求。你會認識很多不同的人,因為這行業裡人盡皆知。然後你可以決定哪一種工作和環境最適合你,想要與哪一類客戶合作。在真正定下更長期的職位之前,你可以先嘗試各種不同的選擇。

非常感謝您今天抽出時間與我分享您的經歷。還有什麼要補充的嗎?

我想補充的是,戶外是為所有人而設的,它不一定要以超級冒險的方式才能讓人享受和學習。當我自己的時候享受戶外活動,我希望能夠計劃一些很酷的東西,比如划水過瀑布。但這並不意味著這是享受戶外的唯一方式。很多人認為戶外活動是很難接近的,其實並非如此。只是簡單地去一個公園坐坐,聽聽鳥叫,也是一種很棒的方式。它不一定要很複雜、技術性強