Following the Da Vinci path up the Alps

A Burren Outdoor Centre instructor will travel to France in January as part of the Leonardo Da Vinci Work Placement Programme.
Keith Nevin will be one of 20 instructors who will spend two weeks in the Alps, working and living alongside their French counterparts and gaining a valuable insight into the way adventure centres are run in France.
The Galway man competed in a selection process that began in September before being chosen to take part in Carve 2012.
“The participating instructors are skilled not alone in the technical delivery of outdoor activities such as kayaking, hill walking and rock climbing but also in the delivery of education through the activity. They specialise in developing life skills through adventure activities and very often work not just with outdoor activity enthusiasts but with youth-at-risk groups, groups with disabilities or addiction and, in some cases, elite athletes,” explained Mark Toner, MD of Landon Carver, organisers of the trip.
Participants will also observe French work practices and spend some of each day learning to ski or snowboard or improve their existing skills.
As well as increasing participants’ levels of spoken French and their technical skills, participants will return with systems and techniques to improve their work in Ireland and the work placement will help develop relationships between the Irish and French centres.
The programme has been funded through Europe and participants will receive a FETAC Level 3 two-day language training in preparation for their trip. The Leonardo Programme has also allowed for the funding of all flights, transfers, accommodation, lessons and subsistence as well as providing equipment for the harsh Alpine environment.  
When asked about the programme, Mark Toner, MD of Landon Carver, said, “We are delighted with the interest in the programme and to be able to provide for a group who do exceptional work in their own right in Ireland but get very little praise for it.
“It’s good to finally have a good news story and we are delighted to be involved. We have an exceptional group of people travelling out on this programme and we would like to pay tribute to them for all their hard work over the years and for their input on the programme. We would also like to pay tribute to Leargas for all their assistance and we look forward to hearing all the stories when the group get back.”
The CARVE Programme 2012 takes full-time instructors who are working in outdoor centres on a two-week work placement in France. The group will work in six separate ski centres around the famous Chamonix valley at the foot of Mont Blanc from January 7 to 22.