A day in the life of a skydiving apprentice
05 Mar 2019
So what specific roles and jobs does a skydiving apprentice undertake on a day to day basis? Customer service is a big focus throughout the GoSkydive apprenticeship programme – therefore employees are put into many different customer facing roles, all featuring different activities and responsibilities.
On some occasions, apprentices are meeting and greeting customers when they arrive on site for their tandem skydive. This means apprentices are the first friendly face that most of the customers will see. It gives a great opportunity to talk to a diverse range of people – comforting some who’ll inevitably be nervous, but also joining in with the excitement felt by first time skydivers!
Operating phones in the customer service office is another excellent way for gaining experience in dealing with different types of people. Often, GoSkydive apprentices are speaking to and helping various customers over the phone before their jump date. Many calls are from people who have never experienced skydiving before and frequently have questions that an apprentice is able to answer and offer support to. Of course – operating in a positive upbeat manor is something that comes natural to GoSkydive apprentices and it’s a culture that is conveyed to customers throughout the whole experience. Many birthday and Christmas experiences are bought as presents over the phone, as well as people calling who would like to complete a skydive as part of their bucket list. The apprentice job role is as much about helping customers get the most out of their experiences than it is just the skydiving.
Apprentices are quick to develop skills in talking to customers which they can use to effect when harnessing them up ready for their jump. At this point, apprentices are having a face-to-face interaction with individual customers that are about to have a positive life-changing experience.
Helping people of many different shapes and sizes into their harness, apprentices hold conversations where they calm customer nerves and build the pre-jump excitement.
Thousands of people (customers and their family & friends) visit the GoSkydive dropzone every year; it’s important to make sure the facilities and service they experience whilst they are here are held at a high standard. Occasionally the responsibility of the apprentice would involve maintaining and retaining the upkeep of the dropzone. As mentioned before, the apprenticeship aims to have all employees equipped with a firm knowledge of how a successful, commercial dropzone and business runs – and this sometimes involves a spot of spring cleaning.
Working on a drop zone is very exciting and apprentices will have opportunities to be fully trained and work closely with the aircraft. Part of the ‘aircraft assistant’ job role includes conducting and filming customers’ interviews before they jump, as well as refuelling the aircraft and communicating key information to the pilot whilst operational. Whilst in this job role, apprentices are kept busy, stimulated and active the whole day interacting with customers, families, friends and colleagues. It’s a prime example of an opportunity for apprentices to learn how to be adaptable.
Every operational day there is the potential that GoSkydive can have a positive life-changing impact on hundreds of people’s lives. When customers land on the parachute landing area (PLA), most of them have just gone through one of the most incredible experiences of their lives. It’s common that apprentices are there to meet them and welcome them as they land – conducting final interviews and joining/sharing the buzz felt by many people every day. Along-side the customer facing role, apprentices also have the opportunity to work closely with the parachutes; performing ‘catching’ techniques where they assist tandem pairs with their landings. Then it’s time to collect the parachutes in buckets and transport them back to the packing mat ready to be packed and jumped again!
Finally, from the start and during the course, all apprentices are trained to the highest standard and well-practiced in packing a range of parachutes (from solos to tandems). Once proficient, apprentices will be capable of spending the day on the packing mat, re-packing both solo and tandem equipment ready for following jumps – this is one of the job roles that employees on the apprenticeship sometimes take on.
Click the link for more information on how to apply for our apprenticeship programme.