The People
We take safety into account when hiring our staff. All regularly-scheduled employees are required to have a valid First Aid certificate at least equivalent to St John Ambulance Standard First Aid with CPR. The law only requires only that one staff member on duty at a time have this training. In addition these employees have all gone through a Police Reference check, as a means of protecting the children who use our facility.
It is our intention that all of our instructors attain the appropriate level of certification through the ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides):
- Climbing Gym Instructor Level 1: for instructors teaching introductory top-rope climbing lessons and movement technique
- Climbing Gym Instructor Level 2: for instructors teaching lead climbing and advanced technique lessons
- Climbing Gym Instructor Level 3: for our Head Instructor, who oversees our instructional programme
The ACMG sets a very high standard for each of these levels of certification, which provides assurance that certified instructors will deliver a high level of instruction, including careful attention to all safety issues. Due to the logistics involved in the certification process (many hours of preparation before each course and multiple days in the course itself, which is only offered a few times a year), it is not realistic to make certification a strict prerequisite before hiring instructional staff. We seek out those who have been certified, but will also hire other instructors who we believe are equally qualified, and then make sure they obtain the certification within a reasonable period of time. The gym pays the fees for certification of our staff when we send them to these courses.
