What is the Working for Nature traineeship?

Are you passionate about wildlife? Do you have a genuine desire to have a career in outdoor nature conservation? Have you always wanted to study or train in conservation but haven’t got the right qualifications or experience yet? Well, the Working for Nature traineeship might just be for you!

Our Working for Nature trainee scheme enables people with no previous experience or qualifications to work alongside our team and our volunteers, to develop hands-on practical experience and vital professional skills to help take that first step to a career in conservation.

Getting into a career in conservation can be difficult – there are few employment opportunities and those that do exist are incredibly competitive. To succeed, applicants need to have the correct training and experience and often people without a degree or equivalent formal education can be put off applying for jobs. We want to make sure that people who are passionate about wildlife and conservation are able to train and develop the right skills to be able to successfully apply for the career of their choice. If this sounds like you, keep reading!

How the traineeship works

Six funded traineeships are available each year until 2022, thanks for funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is split between three of our Trusts – Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust and two trainees are taken on in each area each year.

Recruits work along a supervisor at the Wildlife Trust they are based at and study for a Level 2 City and Guilds Diploma in Work-based Environmental Conservation, supported by the Working for Nature Training Officer. The traineeship is a practical one, so you will be working outdoors for much of the time. You study in either an indoor or outdoor classroom one day a week to work through your Diploma. This includes research and written work which you complete throughout the traineeship and is assessed as you go along. There is also the opportunity to complete an external work placement to gain more experience in the conservation sector.

Each placement lasts for 44 weeks and working hours are 35 per week. Trainees receive a tax-free bursary of over £11,000 to pay for rent, bills, food etc. whilst they are in training.

Read about our current trainees and their Working for Nature experience.

Shaun’s story

I am a Working 4 Nature trainee based at Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust. I decided to pursue the traineeship after I attended the John Muir award. I had never done outdoor physical labour before and didn’t realise I would enjoy it so much. Being outdoors in a green space and doing some physical labour actually turned out to be really fun. I have since gained a big interest in conservation as a whole and am interested in pursuing a career in conservation and I hope that this traineeship will give me the skills and experience I need to succeed. So far I have done loads of different tasks outdoors as the Sheffield and Rotherham team have lots of variation in the types of sites we visit and I think that’s my favourite part. Getting to visit so many sites and improve/maintain them is really fulfilling. Overall I am really enjoying the traineeship and believe it is helping me achieve my personal goals and better myself as a person.

Joshua’s story

My name is Joshua Barnsdale and I was lucky enough to be given a spot at Idle Valley Nature Reserve on this traineeship. My story started when I started volunteering at Sconce and Devon Park as a Shadow Ranger. There I got my first taste of nature conservation and I knew that this was something I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing.Before I started getting into my passion I suffered from extreme depression which led me to become an alcoholic with no future. Nature saved my life and gave me the confidence to climb out of that dark place and find my true calling in life. This traineeship has helped me progress as a person and I can say that this opportunity has opened my eyes wide.

In my first month I have done everything from animal checking to wildlife management, even an outdoor first aid course which I found extremely interesting. Me and the other trainees did a harvest mouse survey which can be carried over to other species when surveying and has made me confident I can do surveys efficiently. The ultimate goal of mine and where I hope the course can help me is to get my foot into nature conservation. I want to make this my life long career so I may better myself and improve nature not destroy it, protecting it for future generations. I believe as the world moves towards having more technology, we are forgetting where we came from and that we are not the only living things on the planet. It is important for children to get involved with nature and their surroundings so they may pass it on when they are older.

The course has been pretty physical and mentally challenging but I feel myself improving every week and getting better adjusting to my environment. The course has taught me loads so far and I find it extremely interesting and informative. The course is extremely fun and interesting but has its physical side to it, it keeps you healthy and feeling good that you are helping nature and improving every day. I have only been with the Trust for a month now and I already feel I have improved mentally and physically and would honestly recommend the traineeship. If your passion is nature and working outdoors then this placement is for you, don’t worry just apply for it, you won’t regret it!

This sounds great! What do I need to apply?

You do not need to have any specific training or qualifications to apply for the Working for Nature traineeship, but we are specifically looking for individuals who:

Have a genuine passion for the natural world and conservation and a desire to work in the conservation sector
Are over the age of 18 at the start of the traineeship
Have not received graduate level education. You must not have a degree to be eligible to apply. If you already have a degree but are looking to gain practical work experience then take a look at our volunteering opportunities.
Have a strong work ethic
Are punctual and reliable
Have determination and perseverance
Are willing to learn new skills
Can commit to a full time schedule of 35 hours a week (or part time on request) of training starting in January 2021
Have their own transport (this is necessary at this moment in time to allow us to conform to Covid-19 recommendations for safe working)
Do not do any paid work during the traineeship – this is due to the requirements of the bursary agreement.
Are eligible to work in the UK

The WFN team want to attract people with a wide range of abilities and from different backgrounds, to represent the UK as a whole. We are an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, such as people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds, those with mental health issues, with no prior qualifications and those interested in changing career.

If this sounds like something for you, you have enthusiasm for the natural world and are ready to learn new skills, please:

Read the Working for Nature Trainee Role Description
See details on how to apply below

If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Laura Jones, Working for Nature Project Officer on enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk.

How to apply

The next round of Working for Nature training will start in January 2021. Recruitment for this round will take place from September 2020.

To apply for the January 2021 traineeship, you need to:

Fill out an expression of interest form. This tells us a little bit about you and why you want to apply. You must complete this form by Sunday 20^th
We will invite all eligible applicants who sent us an expression of interest form to an online information session. Here you will get to meet the Working for Nature team, find out more about the traineeship and what you need to do to apply and you can ask questions. The information sessions will be held in September.
If after attending the online information session you want to apply for the traineeship, you will need to fill in an application form and also complete some outdoor conservation work. Don’t worry if you haven’t done any outdoor conservation work before! We will give you lots of tips and ideas of what you can do, and once you’ve completed it, you can achieve a John Muir Discovery Award!
We will go through all of the applications we receive and shortlist the best applicants. Those applicants will be invited for a face to face interview in November 2020.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Laura Jones, Working for Nature Project Officer on enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk.