In November 2003 Mountains and People - Bulgarian Association of Mountain Leaders was the first in Bulgaria to receive a license for Mountain Leaders
Vocational Training Center. Ever since, we are the only vocational training centre having implemented training courses in
this profession that end with acquiring a state certificate for vocational training. By the end of October 2008 98 professional
leaders have received their diplomas and a lot of them have already managed to achieve professional success.
Since 1999 we have organized five "Training for trainers of mountain leaders" seminars in partnership with CRET Association
(Regional and European Tourism Centre) - Briancon, France, Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism (BAAT), Odysseia-In
Sport and Travel Agency (Bulgaria) and the French Embassy in Bulgaria.
About the Profession:
Name and professional code: Traveling, tourism and free time, code 812
Name and code of the profession: Mountain leader code 812020
Name of faculty, code and level of professional qualification: Tourism, code 8120201, third level of professional
qualification
About the Training:
Duration: 9 months
Total number of credit hours: 1180, including:
1. Obligatory theory - 500 hours
2. Obligatory practice - 500 hours
3. Subjects of free choice - 180 hours
Training mode - regular (during the day)
Professional characteristics - after the final exams for state certification the student must:
Know:
- The trends and development of the national and international travel markets;
- Bulgarian tourism legislation;
- National and international legislation for natural and cultural heritage conservation;
- National insurance legislation in tourism;
- The main principles of guiding individual clients and small groups;
- The principles and means of giving first aid;
- The principles and means of organizing a trip;
- The principles and means of orientation in the mountains;
- The principles of acting under difficult meteorological conditions;
- The usage and innovations of mountain equipment.
Be able to:
- Lead clients in the mountains and guide them in cultural and historical sites;
- Guarantee the safety of the clients;
- Give first aid;
- Animate and amuse the clients;
- Organize and lead hiking tours of different difficulty grades;
- Prevent or manage conflict situations among the clients;
- Work with different types of mountain equipment and help the clients to choose the suitable equipment for them.
TRAINING PROGRAMME
| SUBJECTS |
HOURS |
| I. Obligatory subjects - theory |
500 |
| Behavior in the mountains & mountaineering |
140 |
| Climate in the mountains |
40 |
| Orientation |
30 |
| Theory of tourism |
35 |
| Working and communication with clients |
50 |
| Social Psychology |
35 |
| Biodiversity and ecology |
60 |
| First aid and transportation of an injured |
80 |
| Tourism legislation |
30 |
| |
|
| subjects of free choice |
180 |
| Ski |
120 |
| Actual problems in tourism |
7 |
| History of the mountain leader profession |
8 |
| History and cultures of the people on the Balkans |
15 |
| Bulgarian traditional folklore |
15 |
| Christianity and Islam |
15 |
| |
|
| II. Obligatory subjects - practice |
500 |
| Behavior in the mountains & mountaineering |
250 |
| Climate in the mountains |
20 |
| Orientation |
50 |
| Working and communication with clients |
70 |
| Social Psychology |
10 |
| Biodiversity and ecology |
20 |
| First aid and transportation of an injured |
80 |
Notes:
1. The training course finishes with two exams for state certification - theory and practice;
2. After passing the exams, the students receive a state certificate.
