Become an SGAIC Instructor
SGAIC is a great entry point into the world of fly fishing instruction. It will really change the way you think about things. You'll realise how far you can go in improving your casting and fishing knowledge; You'll see how much enjoyment and satisfaction there is to be had in helping people to cast and fish; and you'll meet a whole bunch of fantastic people. It's brilliant when you meet people from widely differing backgrounds who have a common bond and enthusiasm.
The SGAIC course runs from November to March, and each year we have around ten candidates keen to become instructors. Motivation for attending the course varies from person to person. Some candidates want to help bring beginners into the sport via other organisations like Angling For Youth Development, others want to establish themselves as independent instructors, and still others simply want to improve their skills and help friends or relatives.
Whatever the motivation candidates always enjoy themselves throughout the course.
The SGAIC course is unique amongst the various instruction organisations in that candidates receive structured training and guidance as to what’s required to pass the assessments. This includes technical advice on casting, coaching on presentation skills, and briefings on the subject areas that may come up in assessments. Each candidate is assessed on day 1 of the course and given a development plan to help them focus their practise in the run up to the final assessments. In addition you also get the first aid training and safeguarding children training (and disclosure checks) needed to become a licensed instructor.
The final assessments happen at the end of April. These assessments are tough, but fair. We are committed to ensuring all assessments are done properly, in a consistent way, and that they are validated externally. To this end we have built a
strong relationship with the Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors (AAPGAI), who provide us with experienced, qualified assessors.
This relationship gives us access to some of the best instructors/assessors in the country, and has also led to SGAIC being given equivalence to AAPGAI’s provisional level qualification.
With help from AAPGAI we've successfully increased the number of quality instructors in Scotland, and provided a springboard for several SGAIC instructors to go on to pass the AAPGAI advanced certificate. This boosts the skill-base of Scottish instructors even further and brings more experience and learning back in to the SGAIC fold. Talk about a virtuous circle!
This year we’ve developed the SGAIC offering even further, and now run Continuous Personal Development days for our licensed instructors. This helps us all maintain our skills, and learn new tricks too. Also, it’s just a great excuse to get together, have a chat, and sling a few fly lines around!
So, if you like a challenge, want to use your fishing experience to help others, and want to hone your skills still further, why not sign up for the the course?
If you're interested, see the links on the right of this page for more information, or contact us with any questions you may have at info@sgaic.co.uk