I arrived at Chilcotin Holidays in the middle of May and start my training at the Ranch. Here the trainee process is very adapted to the location, during the first weeks at the Ranch we are trained to every part of the Ranch life. I like this idea because you can understand how it is working here. So, everybody is your mentor and you can be the mentor of everybody. Each person here is different and has different skills they share with the others. The main point is learning!

The people here take the time to explain to you the things, a few times if it is necessary, and are always there to help you when you need it. One of the favourite expression here is “Responsibility is taken not given”, I hear this each day and at first I didn’t really understand what it was suppose to mean. But after few days I start thinking about it again and again, and I understand what Kevan was trying to say to us, if we want to do something, if we want to evolve here we need to take responsibilities and decision because if you don’t do it someone else is going to do it for you.

So I start to take more initiatives and having more responsibilities on the Ranch life, which is very empowering for me. I came here to develop my leadership and management skills at first, but it is more than that, you don’t only develop working skills you also develop yourself on a personal side. The time fly so fast here, and I didn’t really see at first the evolution on my behavior, my friends just start to say to me that I am different than the first time I arrive, and that’s true I can feel it. I have learned to become more self-confident, more empowered, talking in front of people was a struggle for me before and now it doesn’t scare me anymore and I know it is because what I have learn here.

Since three weeks I started to train new people on my main field, the office, and it was the first time for me but I felt confident about that. And even if I made some mistakes about the way I taught them how it works in the first day. The next day I just start again in a different way and they understand, I think that we need to be sure that people understand you before let them start working by their own. The training is a long process and if I wasn’t the empowered woman I became here I wouldn’t be able to do it.

Training is not an easy thing even if you are the best on your field, you need to know how to share all your knowledge with the rest of the staff and that the hardest thing. I learn new things every day from other staff members and I learn to people every day, that’s how it works.

Cynthia, France