County Down needs more heritage guides and now you can get free training with recognised qualifications and lots of support to share your interest in our maritime history, wildlife, buildings and special sites and perhaps set up a part-time business.
Even if you would just like to give tours and presentations for your community, your school or other groups, this short Maritime Heritage Guide course will help you to build up your knowledge and stories and also give you the techniques, confidence and practical skills to lead a group as well as entertain them. The Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership has commissioned specialist guiding trainers, Judith Boyle Associates, to deliver the courses in Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel and participants from those communities are particularly welcome.
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The buiding of six come St Ayle’s skiffs through Down Coastal Rowing with three more to come and a successful first rowing festival last year has been a success story adding to the martime experience of County Down.[/caption]
The Maritime Heritage Guide courses will run in March / April in Kilkeel and Ardglass and in May in Portavogie. Classes and site visits will take place over just 6 days (a combination of Saturdays and weekday afternoon / evenings). This course is open to everyone from young people hoping to improve their CV’s and tourism businesses to retirees and people just wanting to try something different. No previous qualifications or experience is required. On completion you will receive World Host City and Guilds’ Certificates and an Open college Network (OCN) Certificate. These can be a first step to further qualifications.
To find out more and meet the trainers drop in to one of the following centres any time between 6 pm and 8pm.
* Fishermen’s Mission Building, the Harbour, Ardglass, Wednesday 11 February
* Kilkeel Nautilus Centre 12 February
* Dates for Portavogie Community Centre to be confirmed.
Or contact Judith Boyle on 07801 957050 or the SLLP Office in Portaferry on 028 427 28886.
Places will be limited so please register your interest as soon as possible.
The Draft Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2020 sets out growth targets to increase our visitor numbers to 4.5 million, the employment supported by tourism to 50,000 jobs, and the revenue generated by tourism to £1 billion for the Northern Ireland economy. This is a growth industry and there are many opportunities for guiding visitors, especially for anyone with a second language skill.
Knowing more about our heritage and passing on that knowledge is also of vital importance to communities and our sense of place. This course will help you to explore your heritage, build up a collection of stories and share them with your own community as well as visitors.
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