Archie’s Story
Archie joined us in 2019 and, as with the other trainees who joined at the same time, Archie’s traineeship was extended due to Covid-19, finishing in February 2022. Archie left us to start work in an activity centre in England before travelling solo around Europe.
Since then he has been living and working abroad, including countries such as Croatia and Australia, and still continues to come and see us whenever he’s back in Moray.
Archie shares his trainee experience below:
My name is Archie and I am 23 years old. I started as a volunteer and then I became a trainee outdoor activity instructor with Outfit Moray. Before starting I faced many challenges in day-to-day life. My anxiety was extremely bad, so bad that I couldn’t leave the house. I would find it difficult to look and talk to people for more than 10 seconds and have panic attacks and so much more.
I wanted to become a trainee at Outfit Moray because I enjoyed working outdoors and have a passion for developing kids and vulnerable people. I also wanted to use my experience with anxiety to help people and to show them skills in an outdoor environment.
During my trainee period at Outfit Moray I learnt many skills in the outdoor industry that I still use to this day. Outfit Moray helped me through qualifications and courses that allowed me to work with vulnerable people and gave me continuous training and support for the whole time I was a trainee. However they gave me so much more than this, they allowed me to build my confidence, believe in myself, improve my people skills and help me become the person I am today.
Since Outfit Moray I have worked in England at a massive outdoor company called PGL. I thrived at PGL and won staff awards and even got a step up role for the summer. For the last two summers I have spent my time working in the beautiful country of Croatia, at an international summer camp where kids from all over the world attend. My first summer I was a general counsellor, however my second summer I was given the opportunity to become Head of Sports and Head Boy Counsellor. My next adventure awaits me in 2025 where I will be pushing myself out of my comfort zone once more and moving to Australia and Canada. I will be working with school kids at an outdoor centre in Australia and I will be attending another summer camp, but this time in Canada. Since Outfit Moray I have fallen in love with travelling. I have been to 13 countries in Europe, some of these were solo. I plan to do some of South East Asia before returning home from Australia.
I don’t even want to imagine where I would be if it wasn’t for Outfit Moray. I can’t thank Outfit Moray enough for what they have done for me and so many other people. As I continue my life I will always do what I can for Outfit Moray and they will always have my support. In fact I can’t wait to challenge myself with one of their amazing fundraisers once I am back.