As leading training organisations in the outdoors, MTE and the NNAS share many key aims, most notably in enabling people to become more confident in hill and navigation skills. Recognising this, MTE and the NNAS have agreed to enter a partnership to promote each other’s schemes and enable their accredited tutors to be able to deliver their complementary schemes.
The partnership will focus on MTE’s Hill Skills course and the NNAS’ Bronze Navigator Award, enabling providers of each scheme to apply for and deliver the other scheme, meaning NNAS Bronze Navigator Tutors will be able to apply to provide MTE Hill Skills courses and MTE’s Tutors will, in turn, be able to apply to NNAS to deliver the NNAS Bronze Navigator Award. In addition[GJ1] , the NNAS will offer MTE Hill Skills providers and Tutors free NNAS Tutor Award training at specific regional events, which may also serve as useful CPD for their MTE and wider work.
Current tutors in both schemes can apply for the 2023 season onwards. The existing criteria, screening process, quality assurance and administration for each scheme will remain and be run by the respective organisation. The cost of registration for the provider is 50% of the usual fee.
The new working arrangement will be reviewed after one year.
Guy Jarvis, MTE’s Executive Officer, said of the new arrangement, “Our mission is to help people gain both competence and confidence in the outdoors by developing their personal and leadership skills. By working more closely with NNAS we hope that more people will be able to access skills training through both of our schemes.”
Pete Hawkins, chair of the NNAS, said “We are delighted to be working more closely with MTE. Effective and confident navigation skills are at the heart of any successful day in the outdoors, and by bringing our Navigator and Tutor Awards to a wider audience, we’re sure that more people will be able to access the outdoors more confidently.”
The process to apply for NNAS Providers and Tutors is described here: https://nnas.org.uk/course-provider/become-a-nnas-navigator-award-provider/. Application forms to apply for Provider and Tutor status for MTE can be found here: https://www.mountain-training.org/mte-skills-schemes-provider-and-tutor-approval-.
