Who are these awards for?
These awards are for people working in the outdoor recreation industry who wish to guide commercial riverboard trips on New Zealand whitewater rivers.
Riverboard guides are strong, fit, quick-thinking and unflappable. Highly energetic by nature, they know how to get people revved up for a trip down the rapids, while making sure the expedition is safe, fun and positive for one and all. Their training and know-how enables them to respond calmly and competently when things get tricky or the weather turns bad.
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:
Riverboard Guide Grade 2
Riverboard Guide Grade 3
Senior Riverboard Guide Grade 3
Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5
Senior Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5
For more information, please read the Riverboard Guide Award Pathway.
What's involved?
These 15 to 28-credit awards cover the following areas:
Riverboard Guide Grade 2:
Understanding and applying introductory riverboard guiding skills; and understanding river rescue techniques for Grade 2 rivers.
Riverboard Guide Grade 3:
Demonstrating riverboard guiding skills for Grade 3 rivers; preparing and guiding a riverboard trip; and applying river rescue techniques for Grade 3 rivers.
Senior Riverboard Guide Grade 3:
Planning a guided riverboard trip, managing riverboard groups as a senior riverboard guide for Grade 3 rivers, and applying serious incident management skills for Grade 3 rivers.
Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5:
Demonstrating riverboard guiding skills for Grade 4/5 rivers; preparing and guiding a riverboard trip; and applying river rescue techniques for Grade 4/5 rivers.
Senior Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5:
Planning a guided riverboard trip, managing riverboard groups as a senior riverboard guide for Grade 4/5 rivers, and applying serious incident management skills for Grade 4/5 rivers.
Programme structure
The Riverboard Guide Grade 2 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31719 | Demonstrate knowledge of and apply introductory riverboard guiding skills | L4 | 10 credits |
| Unit standard 31712 | Demonstrate knowledge of river rescue skills and techniques for Grade 2 rivers | L4 | 5 credits |
The Riverboard Guide Grade 3 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31710 | Demonstrate riverboard guiding skills and techniques for Grade 3 river trips | L5 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31720 | Prepare, guide and evaluate a riverboard trip | L5 | 7 credits |
| Unit standard 31727 | Apply knowledge of river rescue skills and techniques for Grade 3 rivers | L5 | 8 credits |
The Senior Riverboard Guide Grade 3 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31722 | Coordinate and manage multi riverboard trips as a senior riverboard guide for Grade 3 rivers | L6 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31723 | Apply serious incident management skills as a senior riverboard guide on Grade 3 rivers | L6 | 13 credits |
| Unit standard 32200 | Plan a guided raft or riverboard trip | L5 | 3 credits |
The Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31721 | Demonstrate riverboard guiding skills and techniques for Grade 4/5 river trips | L5 | 15 credits |
| Unit standard 31720 | Prepare, guide and evaluate a riverboard 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 Riverboard Guide Grade 4/5 is made up of the following unit standards:
| Unit standard 31725 | Coordinate and manage multi riverboard trips as a senior riverboard guide for Grade 4/5 rivers | L6 | 12 credits |
| Unit standard 31723 | Apply serious incident management skills as a senior riverboard guide on Grade 3 rivers | L6 | 13 credits |
| Unit standard 32200 | Plan a guided raft or riverboard trip | L6 | 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 guide people riding the rapids? 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 riverboarding 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