Sea Kayak Instruction and Leadership Systems

About Us

SKILS takes a hands-on approach with industry organizations to develop and maintain high standards for training, certification, and practice, which ensures that the material in our programs continue to exceed current industry practices.

Our Programs are Unique

Our unique business model pairs us with the best people and organizations in water-based recreation. Our unique range of services places SKILS at the leading edge of paddlesports in Canada and globally. No one offers the same diversity and depth of programs. We back our programs with strong staff who are passionate about paddling and committed to the paddlesports industry.

Our Programs are Fun

We are not dogmatic in our teaching; there are many waterways into and through paddlesports and SKILS tries to respect the diversity in paddlesports, focusing on the principles behind the skills and knowledge, and not just the skills themselves.. We actively encourage our clients to decide for themselves the paths they want to follow. This facilitates a high degree of experimentation and play in our work which translates into a fun and dynamic learning environment.

Our Programs are Rewarding

We are also rigorous in our work. Clear expectations are set for clients and staff; these expectations meet and exceed the best practices in paddlesports in Canada and the world. We challenge clients and staff to explore and question their paddling skills, their knowledge of the world around them, and their relationship to paddling and the paddling environment. Through this exploration, our clients achieve a strong sense of personal accomplishment and growth

Our vision

Our vision is to develop a mature paddle sports industry where frontline clients have access to motivational, safe, and profound on water experiences, motivated individuals can pursue a career in paddle sports, and organizations can have year round viability.

Our mission

Our mission is to offer a complete range of instruction and leadership services to the touring kayak community.

Why chose SKILS as a course provider?

SKILS is Canada's leading paddle sports training and consulting organization.

We have an excellent reputation across Canada. SKILS is known as the leader in intermediate and advanced kayak training throughout North America.

We support the training development programs of Paddle Canada and The Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC (SKGABC); two of the most important and reputable sea kayaking certifying bodies in Canada.

To better teach our students, SKILS staff wrote several books and major training manuals. These training manuals have since been adopted by the SKGABC as their technical manuals.

Our staff is deeply involve in the sea kayak community through our work advising manufacturers, writing columns in paddling magazines, testing products, being involved in kayaking symposiums, consulting for organizations and businesses, volunteering and acting as leaders for Paddle Canada and the SKGABC.

Each member of our staff has at least 10 years of experience in guiding and teaching. We select only highly trained and certified kayakers who are well-known leaders in the paddling industry. Collectively, SKILS is made up of the most experienced trainers in North America.

Our corporate clients include: