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Instructor courses in Austria

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Looking at gap year courses, my son would like to do a gap year course with work experience in Austria. He understands German well but would need to practice speaking. Any views and experiences of the ski-instructor-academy.com ? It offers Anwarter course plus work experience and then work towards Landes at the end of the season. The other option would be to do BASI gap year course and convert but that would mean he would not have any work experience in that year. Is the Anwaerter/Landes 1 recognised by BASI?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Another option is just to organise work directly with an Austrian ski school. So long as you speak German, you can apply to an Austrian ski school who will then organise training for the Anwaerter and the course itself, and give you a job once you've passed. It's a cost effective option if he does speak reasonable German and is fairly independent. The ski schools usually have an ongoing training program during the season for continued personal development and training for the higher level exams. If he wants a ski teaching qualification plus a season of work it might be worth considering? Sorry, I can't help with any of the GAP style programs.

This is the route I took to get my first teaching qualification but I have subsequently switched into the BASI system.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I did the Peak Leaders one in St Anton. Worked out really well, qualify just before Christmas and they sort a job out for you with the Arlberg Ski School afterwards.
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In Land Salzburg:
email any school in a British TO fed resort as they have a higher demand for Brit speakers.
Ask them if they will 'sponsor' your application to do the Anwaerter.
They will then employ you after the course for the winter.

Different counties offer different ways to access the courses but in Salzburg you must have something backing up your application to the course from a ski school.
http://www.sbssv.at/en/

my blog:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=76074&highlight=anwaerter
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thank you all very much. A lot to think about. It will come down to whether Tom is confident in doing the course in German or whether he would prefer BASI and practice his German alongside. BASI a lot more expensive and we would be interested to know whether Austrian or Swiss ski schools would employ a BASI qualified instructor with German?
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
sue.wald@virgin.net, If Tom speaks German, I would not hesitate to recommend that he takes the Austrian Anwaerter route. He will be on a course with guys from Holland and Scandinavia, for whom German is also a second language. There are courses starting in a few week's time (25th October, 22nd November or 1st December) following which he'll be able to work at the ski school for the season. There are companies such as ski-instructor-academy that organise this, but you're basically be paying for someone to do the background work, which you can easily do yourselves. As flangesax, describes:
1) get in touch with the ski schools in Salzburgerland that cater for UK tourists (e.g. Zell am See, Saalbach, Hinterglemm) but don't rule out other resorts, as he can use his German as well. NB The course is conducted in German - or a 'Pinzgauer' variation of German! If he can manage the phone call in German with maybe a bit of English, he'll be fine to take the course. Ski school phone numbers are available on the Tourist Office websites, or the SBSSV website http://www.sbssv.at/de/ausbildung/anwaerter/

2) the ski school should help him to complete the course application. Accommodation in Kaprun can be booked at the same time as the course.

3) book a flight to Salzburg

4) take the Postbus or Holiday Shuttle to Zell, then a bus up to Kaprun (the Shuttle might take him the last 5 km to Kaprun).

5) pass course and start working (and earning) through until Easter.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
sue.wald@virgin.net, The Salzburger association (SBSSV) has a special langauge learning package put together for those not confident in or perhaps lacking any German. I doubt very much if your son has covered much of the specialist vocabulary involved in skiing! I know flangesax used it and as a result was one of the few foreigners who did not fail on the language component! Take a look at his blog because it was useful.
The Tirol Association also run courses that are a wee bit more expensive than the Salzburgerland ones but you do not need to be sponsored by a ski school. Another snowHead called espri did his Anwärter with them, he also wrote a blog on here about it.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
sue.wald@virgin.net,

It doesn't perhaps help with his German, but IASI has an 8 week Level 1/Level 2 Gap Year course starting in January in Italy (Tonale).

http://iasisnowsports.ie/Courses/coursesski.html
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
sue.wald@virgin.net, there's obviously a lot for your son to think about and he needs to do what is right for him. The specialist (third party - for want of a better term) courses suit some people whilst others are OK to organise their own thing. I think that the major barrier to going the direct route is the German language component. With a knowledge of German he has a major advantage over most already. If he has got a motivated and independent type personality then he wouldn't go far wrong applying to work direct, but if he needs a bit of support and things organised for him then maybe a course is the better option for him.

I did the Anwärter back in the 90s and applied to the ski school in St Anton who trained us, and then we took the Tirol exam in Serfaus. We had a fantastic time. There have been a few posts on this over the last couple of years which you will find on a search. I'm not sure how others found it with regard to the language side of things. We (husband and I) were the only Brits on the course, with the others being Austrian, German, Scandinavian, Dutch and an Aussie. The course was run by the trainers in German, but English was the common language for us to talk to each other in. There was also a written paper which was conducted in German in exam type conditions. Most spoke a high level of German with a couple who hadn't studied it much beforehand. They found the written paper quite tough but the 2 weeks of training in German allowed them to "teach" effectively for that part of the exam. It was easy to learn all the ski related vocab and a lot of teaching phrases during the training if you had a previous knowledge of the language.

Whilst there are always pros and cons of any system to consider, I would say that if he wants to get an instructor qualification, and go on to teach during that same season then you can't go far wrong with the Anwärter. However, it depends what he's looking at doing in the future, and whether it's just a year out or whether he wants to progress it further.

Regarding working in Austria with a BASI qualification. For the schools I've worked for, the Anwärter was required even if you had teaching qualifications from another system...but I think they can vary...and I don't want to make generalisations.

http://www.snowsporttirol.at/ is another useful link.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Thanks again to all of you for the very thoughtful contributions. Sue, I agree flangesax blog was useful. It did show though that the German component is not easy. I am German, so I can help him. However, Tom is only going to be 18 years old and I don't think he will be independent enough to organise course and work on his own (of course I could be speaking as a protective parent). Sue, thanks for the reference to the Salzburger Land language pack. I will investigate this as Tom will need it in any case. I am still thinking that BASI may be helpful because he then has a British qualification, he can use in the UK as there maybe a snow dome in Swindon in the future. We also know a ski school in Bavaria and will have a chat with them. Converting may also be an option as another snowheads showed, although from my own experience that is not easy. Best wishes to you all
Sue
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Just to clarify, Sue, IASI qualifications are valid worldwide.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Quote:

Tom is only going to be 18 years old and I don't think he will be independent enough to organise course and work on his own (of course I could be speaking as a protective parent).


Sue, the Snowheads on here have just about organised it for him - there's little difference between phoning a couple of ski schools and saying 'I'd like to take the Anwaerter and work for you' and phoning a Gap-Year company and saying pretty much the same thing. As far as I know, these companies offer a bit of support, but they are really only a conduit to the SBSSV or Tyrol courses and schools; they are not offering their own courses. The course and work fit together - if a ski school accepts him, they will assist him with getting on to the course and guarantee work when he passes. They will also provide accommodation, uniform, lift pass etc. while he's working - and they'll pay him too, although he pays for the course.

As an Instructor, although he'll only be teaching children and beginners, he'll be responsible for their safety, enjoyment and learning experience while they are on the mountain, so he's going to need to grow a pair and be pretty confident and independent. If he took the course within the next 10 weeks, by Christmas he could be alone in charge of 10 kids at the top of a mountain.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
quinton, I appreciate the advice. Tom is wanting to do a gap year 2014/15 and not this year. He is mature for his age and that may contradict what I said earlier. He has experience of volunteering with children and leading groups for cricket . I appreciate not the same as being on a mountain. In the end it is his decision which route he takes
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Excellent - with his German language skills and sports background he sounds like a really good candidate. If he is keen to instruct during his gap year, and improve his German at the same time, and earn some money, and gain loads of life skills, and meet loads of Scandinavians, Dutch, Bulgarians, Slovenians and an occasional Austrian who all have very different takes on life than the average 18-year-old Brit then a season in Austria sounds ideal. This season's holiday should be in a resort where he might fancy working - get him into ski school group lessons for a few days so he sees how they work and can chat to the instructors, some of whom will only be 18-19. Then he goes and chats to the ski school director. From there on, it's up to him.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
That is really good advice about shadowing in the ski school. Thank you again.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I was thinking that he paid for the lessons and chatted to his instructor as well as getting feedback on his own level of skiing. But your idea of shadowing is a good one too, if you mean joining in with a class and observing. He would need to chat to the ski school director first though.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi Sue,

You should deco get in contact with the Ski Instructor Academy in Austria. I did my anwärter course with them and the guarantee a job afterwards and organise it all for you too so was perfect. I didnt speak any german before hand, but the course includes a german language course and they also send you prepartion material and downloads that you can learn before you get to resort. There were close to 120 people on courses when I was there and it everyone (bar a few who didnt take it seriously) thought it was amazing and all worked the full season in various resorts.

feel free to message me if you have any questions, but i thought they were excellent and I'll be going back to do my landes training too. Very Happy
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Hi, I booked my Anwaerter via snowsporttirol.at, I too had extremely basic German prior to the course but was helped a lot during the course by both the instructor and group members. It is quite intensive and because of the language its also difficult to understand what is being taught! The phrases are learn't during the course, they are pretty much drilled into you every day! So with a bit of extra revision all should be well. There are quite a few vacancies available for ski instructor jobs, you could find these at https://jobroom.ams.or.at/jobroom/login_as.jsp , this is a direct link to Austrias job centre search page, Good luck.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Quote:

Tom is wanting to do a gap year 2014/15

well in that case, absolutely no problem. He already understands German well and he has a German mother who wants to help. If he can't improve his spoken German enough to sail through the language aspects of the Anwaerter course in 12 months time he probably ought to think about doing something else with his gap year! Speak to him in nothing but German and hear nothing but German from him! My son has a 23 month old son, who has an Italian mother and lives with his mother and her parents. He is surrounded by a high quality of spoken Italian and I keep nagging my son, who sees him a lot, to speak to him only in English, not in his (not very good) Italian. Enabling a child to grow up bilingual is such an extraordinary gift!
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