Neilson Active Holidays is a multi-award-winning tour operator with over 40 years of experience within the travel industry. With centres based in Greece, Croatia and Italy, Neilson employs many Watersports Instructors across their programme.
Neilson can provide amazing work opportunities for anyone with the right qualifications, a great personality and a strong work ethic.
Click here to get a taste of life with Neilson:
We have seen plenty of Watersports Nomad graduates go on to enjoy many seasons working with Neilson after completing their course.
We would love to help more like-minded individuals join Neilson in the future, so we sat down with Glen Archer Resourcing Manager at Neilson, to chat about the best route to joining the Neilson Active Holidays Team.
Here’s what Glen had to say:
Anyone who joins our team will, without a doubt, have the time of their life! Often people discover a confidence they never knew they had. They make loads of new mates and create memories that’ll last a lifetime.
The people skills, communication skills, life skills and overall experience gained from working anywhere within our programme will be invaluable in developing a career within Neilson Active Holidays and relevant to any future job role.
The main objective for all Neilson staff is to ensure that our guests have an exceptional holiday experience. We conjured up a cheesy tagline a few years ago – ‘If you’ve got the passion, we’ve got the opportunity’. It’s cheesy, but it’s true. More recently, an EU passport is a bonus, but we’ll get that sorted shortly.
Well, if we’re honest, it’s more like – If you’ve got the personality, we’ve got the opportunity, but we were out voted and passion won. A great personality, a good sense of humour and a strong work ethic will take you everywhere with Neilson.
You must be aged 18 or over to join the team. Of course, Neilson Watersports Instructors need the right qualifications, but passion, personality and drive are crucial factors for us.
Some people may come to us with all the qualifications in the world; however, if they have the personality of a French fry, it’s more likely we will go with someone who can bring some charisma.
Although it does happen, we don’t expect an 18-year-old to rock up and be the best instructor we’ve ever seen. It’s our job as a business to develop our teams, look for the potential in people and provide that brilliant experience.
Some of the best people I ever worked with wouldn’t say boo to a goose at the start of the season, but within a few weeks they had discovered a tonne of confidence and their personalities were shining through.
We want our guests to have fun while knowing they are in safe hands, so we’re always looking for friendly, energetic individuals to join us. Individuals who can build rapport with ease. A team who can assure our guests that every element of their holiday is delivered by people that care.
“If you’re gaining your qualifications with Watersports Nomad, you can follow the application process as explained below towards the end of your course. If your instructors feel that you would be a great addition to our team, they will put in a good word for you with us.”
We have three flavours of Watersports instructors currently:
Watersports Instructor
The Watersports Instructor role is our entry-level instructor position and you MUST be qualified as a Dinghy Instructor AND OR Windsurf Instructor to be successful. Working closely with your Beach Team, you’ll consistently deliver safe, fun, and engaging Dinghy Sailing or Windsurfing sessions for guests of all ages.
Enhanced Watersports Instructors
Enhanced Watersports Instructors MUST be qualified Sailing and or windsurf instructors with two or more of the following additional qualifications to be successful:
Powerboat Instructor – Multihull endorsement – Race Coach – Advanced Sailing Instructor or Intermediate Non-Planing Windsurf Instructor
Senior Watersports Instructors
Senior Watersports instructors MUST be qualified Sailing and or windsurf instructors with one or more of the following additional qualifications to be successful:
Senior Dinghy/Windsurf Instructor – Intermediate Planing Windsurf Instructor – Advanced Windsurf Instructor – Foiling Dinghy/Windsurf Instructor
The Neilson Package
Neilson offers a competitive that includes:
o Return flights
o Accommodation
o Medical Insurance
o All meals or meal allowance
o Uniform
o Staff drinks discount
o Use of hotel sports facilities and equipment
o Holiday concessions
o Continuous comprehensive training
o Opportunity to return for more seasons
o Competitive gross monthly wage
The Neilson Application Process
Step 1
The first step is to submit an online application via the Neilson job site. Before doing this, we strongly encourage people to research the business and the specific job role information via the Neilson job site. They should also check out the Neilson holiday site to get a feel for the product and the resorts we operate.
Candidates should always be realistic and apply for the role that most suits their skill set, personality, experience, and qualifications. They will be able to upload their CV and provide dates of availability within the application.
Those with full-season availability (April – early November) will take priority; however, we will still consider applicants with shorter dates where required.
Step 2
We ask a few simple questions about the role during the initial online application. If a candidate passes this stage of the application, we will invite them to step two – The Sparkhire online video interview.
The online video interview is a golden opportunity for someone to introduce themself to the business and bring their CV to life.
Interviews can often be a nerve-wracking experience for anyone, but this is not our intention here. We are not trying to catch anyone out. In essence, this video interview is like speed dating. We want everyone to show us why they’re the best person for this job. Why do they stand out from the crowd? Why should we choose them over the next person?
We use the Spark Hire video platform, which is straightforward to use. Via this process, we are fortunate to receive hundreds of excellent video interviews from many brilliant candidates hoping to join us.
Some may consider this a more unusual interview process. Still, unlike a face-to-face interview, we give our candidates time to think about their answers and unlimited attempts to re-record their responses. It’s a level playing field, and every candidate has the same opportunity to put their best foot forward.
What happens next?
To set expectations from the start, we are fortunate to receive an overwhelming volume of outstanding internal/external applications. We would love to bring everyone along for the ride, but sadly, by comparison, the number of jobs available is limited. The competition for these roles is fierce. We’re looking for the best people to join us.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of our business, we cannot predict how our recruitment requirements will unfold over the summer; therefore, providing a specific timeframe or a definitive job guarantee is impossible.
Realistically, we cannot offer everyone who applies to us a job. If we do not have a role available but think a candidate is brilliant, we will add them to our standby list. We always endeavour to provide as many opportunities as possible over the season.
The After-Effects of Brexit
We want anyone interested in working for Neilson to enjoy the same incredible experiences we were fortunate to enjoy before the world went mad.
Brexit has been a nightmare for the travel industry and UK Passport holders wishing to work in the EU. It has been a very long road with many setbacks, but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.
UK Passport Holders
It’s a challenging process, but we are happy to say that it’s now possible for Neilson to make visa and permit arrangements for successful UK candidates. Certain factors, even a driving ban, can throw a spanner in the works, but things are far more optimistic.
Dual UK & EU Passport Holders
Dual passport holders to an EU country will have no issues.
EU candidates
It goes without saying that EU candidates will have no issues.
Non-EU Candidates
It can be tricky for Non-EU Candidates applying from outside Europe. They must be able to provide the relevant visa/permit to work within the EU for their dates of availability. Candidates can follow the non-EU option on the application, and the team will look at individual circumstances if they pass through to the next stage in the process.
Useful Links
Neilson Jobsite: https://jobs.neilson.co.uk
Neilson Holidays website: – https://www.neilson.co.uk
Application Link: – https://www.neilsonactivator.co.uk/OSApplication/index.html
Neilson Jobs Instagram: – https://www.instagram.com/neilsonjobsabroad/
Additional information:
Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/watersportsjobs