Courses
The Complete Expedition Guide Course
Duration – 22 Days
Cost of Full Course – US$5 940
The Complete Expedition Guide Course is for you if you dream of working on expedition ships as a guide. Every day is like being on the Discovery Channel, where you get the opportunity to share your passion for the remotest, most beautiful places on earth.
The the Complete Expedition Guide Course is the only offering of its kind in the world, where you will learn what being an expedition guide entails, from guiding skills and building a knowledge base, to presentations and interpretative skills to ice assessment and crevasse awareness. You will leave with qualifications in Wilderness First Aid, specific to the work and environments of an expedition guide, you will learn how to drive small tiller-steered boats including critical skills such as man-over-board and what to do if a Zodiac flips. You will also learn about operations in polar bear territories, strategies to keep safe and the handling and use of a firearm in polar bear environments.
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Wilderness First Aid Course – Polar Medic Course
Duration – 3 days
Cost – US$1 500
Become a Polar Medic. This is not your average Wilderness First Aid course, it is an advanced first aid course dealing with scenarios that you are most likely to deal with on expedition ships, where evacuation by helicopter is not normally an option.
A Wilderness First Aid certificate is a requirement of all companies and the Polar Tourism Guide Association.
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Fundamentals of Expedition Guiding Course
Duration – 6 Days
Cost – US$2 400
Learn to be a professional expedition guide, able to interpret the environment and provide lectures onboard. This module will assist you in gaining the knowledge to be able to guide in the polar regions and how to share that with your guests. By the end of this module, you will have prepared presentations ready to give onboard, be able to lead hikes and interpretive activities, as well as be comfortable with the use of a two-way radio and satellite phone. There is an online option for this module.
PTGA Alignment: Radio and satellite communication, presentation skills, lead a hike in non-technical terrain and thematic interpretation.
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Driving Small Boats/Zodiac Course
Duration: 5 Days
Cost – US$2 700
Learn how to drive small boats and become competent in all aspects from driving, maneuvering, dealing with ‘man-overboard’, flipped boats, safety and the rules governing small boats. You will also learn critical navigation skills.
PTGA Alignment: Working with small boats, driving small boats, & navigation skills.
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Operations in Polar Bear Environments and Firearm Handling Course
Duration: 3 Days
Cost – US$1 200
Expedition guiding in the Arctic requires us to be ready for polar bear encounters. As much as our goal is to show our guests polar bears, our primary aim is to avoid polar bear encounters on land. We want to keep bears and people safe, thus the need to understand polar bear behaviour and biology.
This course will teach you about polar bear biology and behaviour, how to scout a landing for bears, and how to react if surprised by a bear. You will gain an understanding of how to guide in polar bear environments and important considerations when watching bears from a Zodiac or ship. You will also learn how to operate a rifle, including cleaning and caring for firearms, as well as shooting a firearm.
PTGA Alignment: Operations in polar bear environments and firearm skills for polar bear environments.
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Online Courses
Fundamentals of Expedition Guiding Course
Duration – 6 days
Cost – US$1 850
Learn to be a professional expedition guide, able to interpret the environment and provide lectures onboard. This module will assist you in gaining the knowledge to be able to guide in the polar regions and how to share that with your guests. By the end of this module, you will have prepared presentations ready to give onboard, be able to lead hikes and interpretive activities, as well as be comfortable with the use of a two-way radio and satellite phone.
PTGA Alignment: Radio and satellite communication, presentation skills, lead a hike in non-technical terrain and thematic interpretation.
Assessments
PTGA Assessments and Certification
Duration – 4 days
Cost – US$ 1600
The Polar Tourism Guide Association is the industry standard for assessing skills specifically for Expedition Guiding. At the International Guiding Institute we pride ourselves on exceeding PTGA standards for the skills that we teach, and thus after completing our courses, you will be ready for the assessment.
The assessments need to be completed after you have finished your training, or if you are already an experienced guide, you are welcome to join us just for the assessment days.