Sailing instructors teach people to sail boats and yachts, and how to operate powered craft.
Average salary (a year)
£0.0 to £0.0 (starter to experienced)
Typical hours (a week)
24.0 to 37.0 seasonal
You could work
freelance / self-employed as customers demand
You can get into this job through:
You could work towards this role by doing a sport and outdoor activities college course.
You'll need to check that your chosen course includes the professional qualifications needed to become a sailing instructor.
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
You could start by doing an Outdoor Activities Instructor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
This usually takes around 12 months to complete and combines practical experience with classroom study.
You could then taken further training to qualify as sailing instructor.
To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:
5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
You can do Royal Yachting Association (RYA) instructor courses . The RYA is the national governing body for sailing, and sets standards for training instructors.
To train as a cruising or yachtmaster instructor, you'll need to be:
You'll also need to pass a sailing assessment and do further study before you can start training as a sailing instructor with the RYA.
Courses are done at local sailing clubs , with commercial training companies and at local authority watersports centres.
A working week can vary from a number of hourly sessions up to full time.
Some jobs are seasonal, for example from March to October, so it's important to check what type of contract is being offered when looking at vacancies.
You'll need to revalidate your instructor's certificate every 5 years, and must have an up-to-date first aid certificate.
You can find out more about becoming a sailing instructor from the Royal Yachting Association .
You'll need:
You'll need to:
You'll need to be a member of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) to qualify or revalidate as an RYA instructor.
As a sailing instructor, you could:
You could work in a sailing club or at a marina.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers and physically active.
You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
With experience, you could become an advanced instructor for other types of sailing vessels, like racing craft or ocean-going superyachts, or become a training course examiner.
You could also move into supervisory or management posts within a sailing training centre.
