Jack Hill

Jack now works as a watersports instructor for Neilson across Europe

Interested in what life might be like as a watersports instructor with a top active holiday provider? Jack trained at UKSA and now works all year-round at Neilson resorts across Europe. Jack shares his story with us:

“Before I signed up for the course I was waiting for something better to come along really. I knew I wanted to travel but didn’t know of any opportunity, so I just started working locally in the meantime. I was a lifeguard at a local swimming centre, which was mostly cleaning and the sitting around for hours on end. I also worked at a local pub, but cleaning tables and being stuck inside for hours and hours got old fast, so when I saw the course at UKSA advertised I jumped at the chance straight away!

UKSA provided everything I needed

The instructors at UKSA had a lot of knowledge and succeeded in training us all up to a good level. It is a very well run centre – the facilities are great and it gave me everything I needed to pass all the assessments.

One of my fondest memories of UKSA is the people I met. We had a great group and I met friends I keep in touch with years after going our separate ways to other countries. What I’ve found in this industry is that the people you work with have a similar mindset – we all progressed together and had a lot of fun at the same time. Another fond memory of my time is the breakfasts at UKSA, they seriously made my day as it’s all that’s really needed to set you up for a day of intense training!

With Neilson, I’ve been to Turkey, Italy and Greece and experienced so much culture and I have even tried to learn some of the languages along the way! I’ve met many different people and having friends of different nationalities really opens your eyes to the outside world instead of experiencing it through the TV or the internet. You meet some great people and understand a different way of life and different ways of thinking.

“I’m about to start my third winter season now, my sixth season in total with Neilson, and I can’t wait for it to start.”

With Neilson, you can join their progression schemes

I’ve stayed with Neilson because of their progression schemes within the company. After your summer season, you can sign up for a wide range of courses and become more and more qualified. Their winter programme has given me a chance to do sports I’d never tried before, such as skiing and snowboarding and I was then offered to work in Italy for a ski season with Neilson.

I’m about to start my third winter season now, my sixth season in total with Neilson, and I can’t wait for it to start. I can’t see myself doing anything else – moving back to mundane jobs in the UK is out of the question, I’ll be bouncing around from sun to snow until I’m old and frail most likely. You can progress to management through the company if you put the work in, get on well with people and show a good understanding of how the business is run.

I’ve picked up lots of additional skills such as money handling and finance

There is a long list of additional skills I’ve picked up through seasons including personal progression in the sport, dealing with finance and money handling. The biggest one for me is public speaking; I used to be terrible at it, my hand would shake and voice would break and change pitch, but instructing builds your confidence and now I can speak very comfortably to hundreds of people, whether it’s a snow brief in winter or a welcome meeting in summer.

To everyone starting a course at UKSA I wish you the best of luck, you’ve got an amazing road ahead of you! Enjoy it!”

UKSA offer a unique Neilson Watersports Instructor Training course that leads to a guaranteed job for two years with Neilson. The ten-week course and exclusive partnership will fund 80% of the course cost, meaning you pay only £1000 for the course.