Tourist guide

Entry Requirements:

You can get into this job through:

• an apprenticeship
• a college course
• volunteering
• applying directly
• specialist courses run by private training organisations

Entry requirements:

College

You could do a travel and tourism qualification like:

• Level 2 Certificate in Travel and Tourism
• Level 3 Diploma in Travel and Tourism

This will give you an insight into the tourist industry and help you develop some of the skills to work as a tourist guide.

Having a language like French, German, Italian or Spanish, or a history qualification can also be useful for this type of role.

Entry requirements:

• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You may be able to gain some of the skills needed in this role through apprenticeships like:

• Level 2 Customer service practitioner
• Level 3 Event assistant
• Level 3 Cultural learning and participation officer

Entry requirements:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Volunteering

Organisations like the National Trust and English Heritage offer opportunities to gain experience as a tour guide through volunteering.

DirectApplication

Many people become tourist guides as a second career, for example teachers who want to work during school holidays or actors who need work between acting roles.

If you have customer service, teaching or language skills or you have experience of working with people, you may be able to apply directly.

OtherRoutes

You can do 3 levels of training to get a tour guide badge:

• level 2 - white badge
• level 3 - green badge
• level 4 - blue badge

You can apply to local tourist guide associations for training, or major tourist attractions that run their own schemes.

Guide London offers blue badge training, which usually takes around 18 months, and some heritage organisations, like York Minster , have their own training courses.

Required Skills:

Digital skills : to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Skills:

• customer service skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be flexible and open to change
• sensitivity and understanding
• an interest and knowledge of history
• a good memory
• knowledge of English language
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• a desire to help people
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• active listening skills
• thinking and reasoning skills
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to understand people’s reactions
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• the ability to read English
• knowledge of psychology
• concentration skills
• physical fitness and endurance

What you'll do:

Tourist guides show visitors around places of interest like cities, historic buildings and art galleries.

In this role you could:

• guide people around a castle, gallery, historic house or garden
• escort groups of tourists around a site
• give information about the history, purpose and architecture of a site
• accompany groups on day tours to a number of places of interest
• answer questions and suggest other places to visit
• organise or arrange for additional trips and visits

Location : You could work at monuments and castles, in a museum, at an art gallery or in parks and gardens.
Environment : Your working environment may be physically active, outdoors some of the time and you'll travel often.

Salary:

Starter : £18,000
Experienced : £30,000

These figures are a guide

Working hours:

28 - 30 hours seasonal

Working Pattern is freelance / self-employed flexibly

Career Path:

With experience you could work for a tour operator as a regional tour supervisor or manager.