Outward Bound's leadership programs take people outside their comfort zone, require people to be courageous and to consider unusual situations and make decisions. The Outward Bound Leadership Experience has played an important part in Boral's overall process for over five years, with two programs per year. To date over 120 Boral leaders have grown through their exposure to Outward Bound.

Michael Craner
General Manager Learning and Organisational Development, Boral Ltd.

Outward Bound’s Catalyst Program is a life-changing experience to say the least. Every member of my group was privileged to have been able to take away so many learnings and apply them in our daily lives from just one short week. I believe the unique blend of theoretical, experiential and real-life scenario teachings, together with a balance between team-oriented and self-guided activities have greatly increased our awareness towards our personal behaviours and how we interact with other people in our worlds.

Victor Lee, Project Logistics Manager, Mettle Group

The course was heavily focused on practical ways to transfer the learnings back to the home and workplace. I believe that this course is well targeted to a wide range of people and roles from the Supervisor looking to move to a Management position all the way to Managers already at a senior level. All would benefit from this style of leadership training.

Andrew McLean, Stramit Building Products


I firmly believe that this course is one of the most valuable leadership learning experiences I have undertaken. In summary, I believe my participation in the Catalyst program has given me benefits and new skills which would not be possible though any other type of training. This course is unique in the way it is delivered and I personally found it a great learning experience.

The difference between a regular training session and the Outward Bound course is that people can study management techniques for years and not to be able to use them in the practice. The participants of Outward Bound courses are challenged in an emotional and mental way in order to be able to use such techniques in a natural and conscious way at the end of each training session.

Many studies promoted by the mass media talk about the importance of individuals in the organizations. However there is a gap between the theory and the practise; Outward Bound is like a bridge over this gap. The course participants are provided with techniques they are comfortable to use after returning home, which make them capable to create an environment where the misery of unimportance is unknown.

Josh Smolenears, The Laminex Group

 We have found that Outward Bound provide a high level of service from conception to outcome. Without exception, the feedback from 12 years of course participants has been very encouraging. As a result, I am happy to recommend Outward Bound Australia as an organisation that has demonstrated its effectiveness to CFA, in developing both team performance and leadership skills.

Len Foster
Chairman, Country Fire Authority 

The experience has been a great benefit and I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their leadership capabilities, including my own work teams and emerging leaders across Coal and Allied. This should be a formal part of staff development training. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a leader.

Tim Veness, Mine Geologist
Rio Tinto Coal and Allied