The life of a work experience kid in a dive shop
Bouley bay dive centre- from the POV of a trident student :) By Mia.
Less diving more kit:
Even though it’s called a “dive centre” there is more cleaning and kit maintenance that happens ( they like to make you hoover so they don’t have to).
Food:
you would think “they are doing so much water sport there’s no time for a big meal”, nope even if the kitchen is a tiny square mainly made up of a microwave, toaster and a ton of plastic pink cutlery (plus the coffee equipment), they still manage to make enough food to fill a large fridge, inhale it at lightning speed and then ask about cheese boards.( can’t blame them food is the best thing ever to exist so )
Fins (not flippers):
A stunning piece of footwear that kids always have the urge to walk in even though they have been told “don’t try you can’t “ .
P.S I never want to wash a fin again due to the mass cleaning of them that seemed to consist of every fin in the shop getting washed and the death of my poor back due to bending into a bucket thank you year 6 snorkel group. P.SS it’s a fin, not a flipper
Activities week in a dive shop:
Busy but fun. You have to just suck up the fact you can’t go in the water (crying on the inside) and pretend you are swimming in the buckets that the kit gets washed in ( it’s a safeguarding thing I wasn’t being bullied). You gain knowledge of every kid’s shoe size and 150+ different ways to get a wetsuit on and off. If there was a vote taken on the best activity for some reason it’s pontoon jumping ( I haven’t seen a good flip yet ) when scuba diving should be the best.
Shop duty:
kind of terrifying but is normally fine. People like to ask about swimming goggles (no the shop doesn’t have any) and I always feel bad saying “sorry everyone is in the water I’ll take a note for you”. Its the same when picking up the phone and saying sorry I have to take a note. But the spinning chair is the most comfortable chair in the whole shop.
What I learnt ( on a serious note ):
Social skills and customer service skills
How to pick up a phone without crying
Kit maintenance skills and dive kit care
Overall, all the staff are super nice and I couldn’t have asked for a better trident experience (#Becky is the best).
P.S I am the best at hoovering and washing wetsuits J
Would I recommend Bouley bay for work experience?
100000%. You will learn great communication skills and learn how to function within a great team in a busy shop. You do jobs ranging from basic cleaning to setting up dive kit for people to use. You learn how to organise kids and kit within activities week and how to interact with them and the teachers in a positive and motivational manner to keep them energised and prepared for each activity. Overall an amazing experience since the work environment is positive and all the staff are super nice J.