Niall Rowantree and Steven Grant - West Highland Hunting

Training successfully to be a gamekeeper requires more than dedication to college studies. Trainees need to learn on the job - where the right tutor and teaching style are crucial.

The highlight of Steven’s career so far has most definitely been the Lantra award, which boosted his confidence but also made his name known around the industry.

 

Steven Grant was lucky enough to come under the wing of veteran stalker Niall Rowantree when he embarked on his career aged just 16. Now 22, Steven is fully qualified - but readily admits he still has much to learn - and one of his greatest pleasures is passing on his knowledge to the next generation of students.

Niall and Steven work for West Highland Hunting on the Ardnamurchen Estate, the most westerly extremity of the Scottish Highlands, which is run with not only hunting, but also the environment, local community and jobs very much in mind.

“My father has been involved in recreational stalking since I was a child and my brother is a Gamekeeper. My first contact with deer was seeing two hanging in the porch at home, and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since,” says Steven. “But I didn’t think of this as a career until my brother went through North Highland College and got a job - visiting him opened my eyes to the fact that I could do it too.”

He completed his SVQ Levels 1 and 2, then an HNC in Game and Wildlife Management from North Highland College, and in 2006 was winner of a Land-based Learner of the Year Awards from Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the land-based and environmental industries. 

The Ardnamurchan Estate also has another one of our Land-based Learner award winners on the staff - trainee stalker Grant Symmers, who is part way through a four-year placement from the same college. He was our Scottish Land-based Learner of the Year in the game and wildlife awards last year.

Steven says he wouldn’t change a moment of his training, though he would like to add more elements to courses for future stalkers.

“Niall would never ask me to do anything he wouldn’t do himself and when I was unsure, he would ask me to find a way of doing the job and go back to him if I got stuck. That gave me confidence to try, and to ask for help,” he explains.

“Even in the few years since I started training, there is more of a requirement for academic knowledge and theory about things like sustainability and habitat. It’s more scientific. But there is also a problem with confidence because young people coming into the sector are not always given the right academic support. You don’t need to be the world’s best mathematician, but you do need basic maths.”

He knows he was fortunate in working under Niall and would like a list of approved and vetted estates to be created so that youngsters are guaranteed comprehensive training, rather than just supplying ‘an extra pair of hands’.

Steven would also like to see more work experience, including an additional two weeks after school finishes and before students start college.

The gamekeeping course could also be extended with elements he has found essential, including butchery and driving all terrain vehicles (which he acknowledges is expensive but proposes could be funded 50:50 by the college and estates). He is also aware that health and safety training is vital and he has benefited from Niall’s preparation of personal risk assessments for key jobs - something he would also like covered at college.

The highlight of Steven’s career so far has most definitely been the Lantra award, which boosted his confidence but also made his name known around the industry. “When I’m in meetings or teaching, people remember who I am, which is great. Now I have students of my own and I’m still close to being a student myself. But I know that learning by doing embeds something in your subconscious, it’s the best way to learn,” he smiles. “I won’t forget how I got to where I am. I’m still earning every day.”

Niall Rowantree is obviously proud of his protégé: “I shot my first deer when I was nine and started on the Youth Opportunities Programme to become a Gamekeeper when I was 16. Now I’m 46 and they still call me the ‘boy’!”

A third generation deer stalker, Niall has seen many changes in training and welcomes the return of apprenticeships, along with SVQs, National Certificates and HNCs in game and wildlife management - but he too would like to see more specific training to work with deer.

Niall, a former board member for the Deer Commission for Scotland and a consultant in deer management for estates around Europe, in Canada, North America and Mexico, wants to train a team of elite experts to take game keeping to a new level.

Over the years he has been involved with colleges, the Association of Deer Management Groups, and wrote some of the first best practice guides on managing deer for the Forestry Commission, where he worked for 12 years. He is now working with West Highland College on future training on the Ardnamurchan Estate.

Niall believes that controlling and managing deer populations has wider effects, including environmental protection and biodiversity for which there are more and more targets.

He first worked with Steven Grant on the Corrour Estate near Fort William: “Part of the job there was to upskill the estate to deliver sustainable deer management, a quality venison product and the sport. At Ardnamurchan we have adopted the Canadian-North American-African model for hunting. We are probably amongst the most expensive stalking in the country but we offer a quality all inclusive service are fully booked.  We also offer contract management services to other estates. The owner here cares passionately about the community and works hard to maintain employment.”

Niall’s ambition is to build a core team of expert stalkers who can work anywhere and he believes the right training is an important cornerstone of his plans. “The financial benefit to the business underpins the point that training is worthwhile. Through Lantra it is easier now to liaise with colleges and to ensure that standards meet the needs of the industry.

“The scope of the job has expanded and the public are more aware of what we do, there’s habitat monitoring, we look at the health of woodland and look after meat production, plus some public relations and showmanship!” he laughs.

His advice to anyone wanting to become a Gamekeeper is to ‘ keep their nose clean’, or they won’t get a gun licence, to stay fit, develop academically as far as possible, to be open minded and passionate. “Remember this is a vocation. If you want to be rich, do something else.”