Who are these awards for?
These awards are for people working in the outdoor recreation industry who wish to guide commercial rafting trips on New Zealand whitewater rivers.
Raft guides have strong arms and clear heads. Fun, outgoing, and highly competent, these outdoor professionals know how to create great experiences on Kiwi waterways. They are trained and skilled at assessing the conditions and making good decisions, and always respond calmly to ensure trips are challenging, enriching and above all safe.
These awards are are designed to be delivered on-the-job in the great outdoors.
To commercially guide within New Zealand, you need to hold the appropriate raft or riverboarding award. The New Zealand Rivers Association and Skills Active have worked hard to develop a qualification system that reflects the high quality of guiding required in New Zealand.
The trainee chooses one of five strands:
Raft Guide Grade 2
Raft Guide Grade 3
Senior Raft Guide Grade 3
Raft Guide Grade 4/5
Senior Raft Guide Grade 4/5
For more information, please read the Raft Guide Award Pathway.
What's involved?
These 15 to 28-credit awards cover the following areas:
Raft Guide Grade 2:
Understanding and applying introductory raft guiding skills; and understanding river rescue techniques for Grade 2 rivers.
Raft Guide Grade 3:
Demonstrating raft guiding skills for Grade 3 rivers; preparing and guiding a rafting trip; and applying river rescue techniques for Grade 3 rivers.
Senior Raft Guide Grade 3:
Planning a guided rafting trip, managing multi raft trips as a senior raft guide for Grade 3 rivers, and applying serious incident management skills for Grade 3 rivers.
Raft Guide Grade 4/5:
Demonstrating raft guiding skills for Grade 4/5 rivers; preparing and guiding a raft trip; and applying river rescue techniques for Grade 4/5 rivers.
Senior Raft Guide Grade 4/5:
Planning a guided rafting trip, managing multi raft trips as a senior raft guide for Grade 4/5 rivers, and applying serious incident management skills for Grade 4/5 rivers.
Programme structure
The Raft Guide Grade 2 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31711 | Demonstrate knowledge of and apply introductory raft guiding skills | L4 | 10 credits |
| Unit standard 31712 | Demonstrate knowledge of river rescue skills and techniques for Grade 2 rivers | L4 | 5 credits |
The Raft Guide Grade 3 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31708 | Demonstrate raft guiding skills and techniques for Grade 3 river trips | L5 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31713 | Prepare, guide and evaluate a raft trip | L5 | 7 credits |
| Unit standard 31727 | Apply knowledge of river rescue skills and techniques for Grade 3 rivers | L5 | 8 credits |
The Senior Raft Guide Grade 3 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31714 | Coordinate and manage multi raft trips as a senior raft guide for Grade 3 rivers | L6 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31715 | Apply serious incident management skills as a senior raft guide on Grade 3 rivers | L6 | 13 credits |
| Unit standard 32200 | Plan a guided raft or riverboard trip | L5 | 3 credits |
The Raft Guide Grade 4/5 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31709 | Demonstrate raft guiding skills and techniques for Grade 4/5 river trips | L5 | 15 credits |
| Unit standard 31713 | Prepare, guide and evaluate a raft trip | L5 | 7 credits |
| Unit standard 31728 | Apply knowledge of river rescue skills and techniques for Grade 4/5 rivers | L5 | 8 credits |
The Senior Raft Guide Grade 4/5 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31717 | Coordinate and manage multi raft trips as a senior raft guide for Grade 4/5 rivers | L6 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31718 | Apply serious incident management skills as a senior raft guide on Grade 4/5 rivers | L6 | 13 credits |
| Unit standard 32200 | Plan a guided raft or riverboard trip | L5 | 3 credits |
What are the costs?
On-job training costs workplaces both time and resources. It can mean covering registration fees, learning and assessment resources, allocating time for training, and having an appropriate assessment pathway available.
Total costs for trainees will vary depending on how the qualification is delivered, how it is assessed and how much support the workplace can provide.
Check out our fees list and financial help options.
For more detailed information about the cost of doing an on-job qualification, get in touch.
Where to from here?
Keen to gain a raft of skills? Think this might be the right qualification for your staff?
To find out more, contact your regional Skills Active learning support advisor.
Remember, to do any of these qualifications on the job, a Skills Active trainee needs to be working as a volunteer or paid employee with an organisation that runs commercial rafting trips.
If you are interested in this qualification, but you're not currently employed in the industry, contact a Skills Active learning support advisor to talk about how you can get involved.
Want to see where these qualifications can take you next?
Check out our range of other outdoor recreation qualifications.
Discover your own career path on Tōu Aratika - our careers website.
Enrol now!
Contact your regional advisor or
P 0508 4 SKILLS (0508 475 4557)
E info@skillsactive.org.nz