 Poster: A snowHead
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My 19 year old daughter fancies spending the winter of her gap year working as a ski/snowboard instructor in the Alps, preferably Austria. Obviously the first thing she needs to do is get qualified as an instructor, then find a job that will at least cover board plus the cost of becoming an instructor.
Anyone got any advice or experience of doing this? She came across this website which looks quite promising, but it looks a bit pricey to me. Anyone know if they're any good?
Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sorry Tim M, Becoming a real ski instructor takes more than a whole ski season - yes you can do the course you mention and many others but then your teaching sphere is very small.
In many countries a ski instructor is a professional position and is something a 19 year old can aspire to - not do, unless they started their training whey were 16.
Most fully qualified instructors I know have spent more than 20 thousand pounds and 3 years or more getting where they are.
If she want's to teach at a kids club or similar then fine, go for it. But if she actually wants to go skiing for the season she is much better off doing something else for the season and starting to work towards teaching.
Look at http://www.basi.org.uk/index.aspx for real ski instructors information, or google the French or Swiss national organisations.
For working in the alps for a season at 19 (I wish I had, I waited till I finished uni - but been skiing aver since) look at Natives.co.uk
Much more fun to do some cooking, cleaning and smiling and ski 5 days a week, than look after kids while standing on skis 6 days a week and ski 1 - I've tried 
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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?
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Tim M, I know the system in Austria quite well and this is a recognised school leading to a recognised qualification to start to learn on the job in a properly recognised school in Austria.
However, I would ask a lot of questions first - starting with how will she gain the required hours as an Anwärter (she will not be an instructor until she completes level 2) in order to then apply to complete her training NEXT year (at the earliest) by doing her Landeslehrer exam? Do they guarantee her a job with a local ski school if she passes? If they do not, then walk away! In Salzburgerland you cannot do these exams unless you are sponsored by a ski school in the province or nearby. The courses themselves are very cheap because they are subsidised by the provincial government, but obviously there are restrictions on who can actually take them as a result.
A short email to the Obmann of the SBSSV (Salzburger Berufsschilehrer & Snowboardlehrer Verband) at sbssv@aon.at. should answer any of your questions as to whether this is a kosher operation or not. The Obmann is the chairman of the association and currently it is a friend of mine called Gerhard Sint. His English is superb so have no worries about using English to communicate with him.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 13-08-12 16:50; edited 1 time in total
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Tim M,
Just a thought. Instead of paying out £1,000's to do a course like that, for the same cost she could just rent an appartment somewhere maybe with one of her mates and go and ski all season.
Of course if she intends to keep going at the ski teaching later this would be different, but a gap year only ???. Would not seem to be much of a fun way of spending it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wayne, Looks better on the CV though - spent a winter as a ski instructorish v. was a ski bum. Plus you never know, presumably not everyone who gets into it goes in from the start as a "this is my lifelong career" decision. If people don't test the water they'll never get into the pool.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Tim M, if your daughter is only really looking at gaining a basic level instructor's qualification to enable her to teach for the winter then the cheapest and quickest option might be to contact an Austrian ski school direct? I know some of them will offer a position subject to you passing the Anwaerter exam without any other teaching qualifications. They will organise some training and the Anwaerter assessment at the beginning of the season (the schools I've worked for have anyway) ready for you to start in time for Xmas week. My accommodation has been heavily subsidised in the past and the training was easily paid for by my monthly salary.
However, you do need to speak German and ski to a standard if you want to go the direct route. If she doesn't already speak German and hasn't skied much then her best option would be to look to at options like the one you've linked to above but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them. There is always the BASI route but I'm not sure how easy it is to find work with the level 2 qualification in Austria unless you also have the Anwaerter?
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 13-08-12 13:57; edited 1 time in total
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Tim M
Get your daughter to apply for a 1-year working holiday visa for either Canada or the US through BUNAC.
Apply to work in any capacity for a ski resort in Western Canada or Western US.
Make use of the free training offered to employees to train towards the Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance (CSIA) or Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Level 1 certification.
Take the CSIA Level 1 (maybe 2 if you're lucky) or PSIA Level 1 examination when she's ready.
Working and training during the Gap Year looks better on a college application form than just doing a training course
You don't have to donate a kidney to pay for it.
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| fatbob wrote: |
| Wayne, Looks better on the CV though - spent a winter as a ski instructorish v. was a ski bum. |
Yeah you're right.
For my gap year (was actually 3 years during early 80's - OMG I'm sooo old now) I was an 18-30 rep - summer in mallorca and winter in austria
For some reason I don't put that on my CV. It just say's oversea's work for that time 
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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.
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Any qualify-to-be-an-instructor-during-your-gap-year package is going to be expensive, but it does have the advantages of being quick, relatively easy, and probably a lot of fun.
The downsides are that you won't have as much experience as other instructors (and it is often the experience that really makes a good instructor) and you may end up with a qualification that is only useful in one country.
The alternative is to take your time over getting the qualifications, e.g. BASI or SSE in the UK, teaching at local slopes and perhaps a few weeks on real snow each season, and gradually build your experience and qualification. This is much cheaper, but slow (and probably especially so when you're 19).
If I was 19 and could afford it I'd do the season as I'm impatient and it would be a blast. Her own level of skiing will improve dramatically, as likely will her language skills (if she doesn't just hang around with brits), and her appreciation of teaching as a skill, so even if she doesn't take the ski instructing any further there will be other transferable skills that will give value for money.
It sounds expensive but when you factor in how much of that money goes in accommodation etc. and how much tuition they will get, it probably works out as a reasonable daily rate. I'd be looking for a course that had good links with local ski schools and some kind of employment guarantee so she's not left in December with a qualification that she can't use.
Perhaps though you should encourage her to do a BASI L1 or SSE L1 course here in the UK before she books the season. This will give a good idea of whether she's at the right level to tackle something like this, and whether she'll enjoy it, and should only cost a few hundred pounds at most.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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What Mike Pow, Said! Much cheaper and lots of fun.
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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.
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Tim M, with most gap courses that I've seen in Europe you won't get the initial instructors qualification until relatively late in the season, so earning enough to cover accommodation for the rest of the season and the cost of the gap course itself will be extremely difficult. One exception I know to this is the gap course run in Tignes by Snoworks, which starts in October and aims to finish in December. If the Level 1 and Level 2 courses are successfully completed they will try to find you a job in Switzerland or Austria. However, you should be aware that most instructors are paid by the hour, so if there's not a lot of work (typical outside of school holidays) newly qualified instructors are unlikely to get priority. Doing an intensive course, getting a qualification, having a season-long party and maybe getting some teaching experience are all great things to do in a gap year, but I think it's unlikely that any work your daughter could pick up would allow it to to be self-funding.
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Tim M, I know you stated that your daughter has a preference for Austria, but I cannot recommend highly enough the BASI instructors course with Neige Aventure in Nendaz, Switzerland, if you look at www.onthemountainpro.co.uk you can see all the details of the course. Neige is also a ski school and there is a chance of working for them if you reach the level required. Rob@rar has a valid point though, these courses will take you up to nearly the end of the season so it would be unlikely that she would be able to re-coup the cost of the course through working. I wish her all good luck.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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+1 for what Mike Pow advised. If you just want to be an instructor for one season, Canada is by far the cheapest and easiest place to do it, if your daughter can get a J1 (student) visa for the states, then it'll be similar there as well. I know people who have flown out to Whistler, got their level one at the start of the season, worked as an instructor for the season, then got their level 2 at the end.
Paying for European courses is prohibitively expensive and hard to do if you just want to do one season, as often the training/exams take most of the season. I do believe that peak leaders offers an early season Anwarter course with guaranteed employment if you pass, which would seem a decent option if your daughter is set on Austria.
I personally did my instructing qualifications in NZ in the summer, then went out to the States to work, so if your daughter is set on getting qualifications and working, that might be an option.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Tim M, I'm assuming that your daughter wants to spend a season working at a ski school, instructing kids and beginners, rather than spending 3-5 years and £20,000+ to become a fully qualified Ski Instructor.
If your daughter is a good skier (for arguements sake, lets say more than 10 weeks on skis and confortable on reds and blacks) and if she has a smattering of German, then there is no need to spend €5,000 on a course. The course will provide her with coaching to help her to gain an Anwärter license, but she can just as well apply directly to a ski school in Austria, who will support her application and guarantee her work once she passes - all she pays is the Anwärter course fee (about €500) and a week's accommodation in Kaprun (about another €500 which can be booked at the same time as booking the course). Precise details and costs - http://www.sbssv.at/en/welcome/
So for Salzburgerland Austria, she needs to find a ski school or two (look on the Tourist Office websites for schools in each resort or on the sbssv website), call them or email, get them to agree to support her application to join the course, book the course for late Nov. or early Dec, pass the Anwärter, get the bus/train from Kaprun to her resort, pick up her uniform and start work. As an Anwärter she is only going to be teaching children and adult beginners. If she gets bitten by the bug, she will be able to train at the ski school and work towards her Landes 1 exam, which she can do in late Feb/March.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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quinton, I've already referenced the SBSSV in my reply above.
I know the Ski Instructor Academy from having seen them on the Kitzsteinhorn quite a few times. What she needs to know is whether they will guarantee her an apprenticeship place with a reputable ski school. She also needs to confirm from the SBSSV if the Ski Instructor Academy is a recognised provider. The actual courses are running pre-season from the look of things so it does imply get anwärter and we will get you located but it does not say that exactly.
As for getting Landeslehrer after one season, the chances are very slim unless she has incredible luck and is already an outstanding skier (which for all we know she may well be!). A very good friend of mine is one of the directors of a large Salzburgerland ski school and his son (age 18 ) has just failed his Landeslehrer, and it was not for lack of trying to pass. They have pushed up the standard quite a lot in the past few years.
Currently there is in general a surplus of English-speaking instructors and preference is given to those with higher and/or wider qualifications (say snowboard and ski or different language combinations). They also prioritise locals above outsiders (that includes anyone from Tirol, Arlberg or Germany as well). There is a real shortage of good instructors of any level who can teach in Russian, Czech or Polish and the SBSSV is actually holding training camps in those countries to prepare their instructors to teach in Austria. The other growth area she is having to compete with is the Scandinavians who also speak excellent English and can teach both English and Scandinavian clients. There have been increasing numbers of "Gap Year" Scandinavians working in the areas I know well for the past 6 to 8 years, maybe longer.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 13-08-12 18:51; edited 1 time in total
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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?
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Samerberg Sue, Agree entirely with your comments.
I would add that for all of these 'Academies', be they in Austria, France or Canada, the courses that they offer might well lead to a job - but 'having a job' (i.e. being employed by a ski school) is not the same as 'having work', and in many schools, no work equals no pay (even if you are allowed to stay in the Instructor's accommodation and can use your lift pass). At Christmas and New Year, and again in mid-Feb, there is more than enough work for everyone. Outside of peak periods, there might be much less work, so work is allocated by level of qualification, years at the ski school and language skills - a Dutch instructor who has the language skills to take a mixed group of Dutch/German/English kids will get work before an instructor with just one language.
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Based on the above information Tim M I would direct your daughter to the States.
When I worked at Keystone, Colorado there were a couple of non-certified instructors helping out in the children's ski school (this is allowed in the US) who quickly got their PSIA Level 1 certification. Not sure if that's still the case but worth checking.
They, and I, never had any problem with getting enough hours. All season.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for all the replies so far folks, much appreciated. 
I'll see if I can get her to look in to some of the alternatives that have been suggested.
She's wanting to do this over the winter of 2013/14, we'll be in Zell am See for our holiday this winter so maybe it would be an idea to go in to a couple of ski school offices and talk to them about it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Tim M, If you are going to be in Zell am See, then it's absolutely the right idea to go and chat with the ski school directors and hear what they have to say. If your daughter takes a lesson or two, the instructor should be able to give her feedback regarding her level of skiing/boarding and whether or not she would be good enough to do the Anwärter. You may find that a friendly Director will take her out for a couple of hours and then give her feedback. If he thinks that your daughter meets the standard (and he'll probably also be chatting in German to test her language skills) he may well agree to support her Anwärter application and offer her a job for the following season there and then.
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Tim M, plus 1 to what quinton advises. I have some contacts to 2 big ski schools if he gives her a thumbs up and there are other snowHeads with contacts to ski schools elsewhere in Salzburgerland and Tirol. Both my contacts have taken on youngsters before and given them proper jobs with accommodation and pay regardless of the number of clients per week. In the lean weeks they usually doing training for all the Anwärters and anyone going for Landeslehrer.
If you are in Zell this winter, why not contact the Kaprun people and check them out at the same time? Then you have all the info you need to be honest. A summer course to bring her German up to speed next summer may also help if she needs it. A lot of foreign students on the Anwärter courses do not get their official stamp because they fail the German component. It is considered to be very important as although you are dealing a lot of the time with English speaking clients, you have to interact with other people in the region who may not be as au fait with English, this is particularly true of the Piste Patrollers and using radios to inform/liaise with emergency services is not the best way to test out ropey German!
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If she has that much lead in time and the requisite language skills then +1 to quinton and Samerberg Sue.
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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.
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Hi all I thought it best to revive this thread rather than start another one, as this topic already got quite a bit of attention.
I too am 19 and I wish to become a ski instructor. however I dont intend to do it for one season, instead to try and make a life out of it. Basically I would like to eventually achive at least BASI lvl3 or possibly BASI lvl4 (ISTD).
I am currently in full time employment and my intention is to save a bit of money each month over the next 2-3 years until I can accumulate a pot of around £15,000.
I have done a fair bit of research about the different companies that offer the 12 week courses costing around £8,000, and if you are a good enough skier you can achieve (depending on if you do it in France or Canada) a BASI lvl1 + lvl2 or CISA respectively. Then try to work the rest of the season in the respective country. (some even promise a job (not work) for the rest of the season.)
Or am I looking at this the wrong way if I want to spend a good chunk of my life doing it?
Should I instead complete my BASI lvl1 in the uk and get a job at my local dry slope teaching at weekends until I achieve the required 35hrs. Then do the same again for my BASI lvl 2 (another 35 hours)
I guess what I am asking is, would it be more appealing to a potential ski school that I have spent my time over 1-2 years teaching people and earning my BASI lvl1 + lvl2. Instead of achieving my qualifications in a 3 month season?
many thanks guys. 
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BigMacB93,
My advice would be to attend your Level 1; or maybe an assesment before you stump up the cash for L1.
Once L1 passed you will get feedback from the trainer including development towards L2. Depending on that feedback; either put some of the dosh towards L2 training or attend L2 and then follow advice from L2 trainer.... etc...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| BigMacB93 wrote: |
| I guess what I am asking is, would it be more appealing to a potential ski school that I have spent my time over 1-2 years teaching people and earning my BASI lvl1 + lvl2. Instead of achieving my qualifications in a 3 month season? |
Yes
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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.
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I think that gives an out without burning so much cash too in case you do change your mind. My daughter did her L1 last summer at 16. Getting her shadowing hours in is taking ages due to other priorities, A level studies, etc. But she's now not not sure whether she wants to go on to L2 or not. Not a problem as it won't have cost too much and if she does do it she'll probably wait until Summer 2014 anyway.
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Daughter was going to do just this, also available from Oyster and Yes - BUT if you are going to do this do get a VISA sorted early as 2012 they ran out in May. No Visa in place then you can't do the course.
You can do a straight training course with no Visa. So Daughter is now going to do L1&L2 exams on a 6Week course in Whistler then get a job there next year. She does already have BASI 1 (Visa applied for now in readiness!) Cousin is doing the L1 exam in a week whilst over there at Easter.
Another Cousin who has only got BASI 1 but has been teaching indoor for a few years managed to get a Job in Banff and is out there now.
Appreciate you wanted Austria but there are alternatives and as My Daughter does not speak a foreign language well enough we felt Europe was a none starter for her - not to mention we love Whistler.
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You know it makes sense.
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| BigMacB93 wrote: |
Or am I looking at this the wrong way if I want to spend a good chunk of my life doing it?
Should I instead complete my BASI lvl1 in the uk and get a job at my local dry slope teaching at weekends until I achieve the required 35hrs. Then do the same again for my BASI lvl 2 (another 35 hours) |
Carefull - the 35hrs is shadowing or any snowside activity (ie boots/ski hire or running the lifts) you are not qualified and can not teach until you have done the shadow hrs.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Jake43 wrote: |
| BigMacB93 wrote: |
Or am I looking at this the wrong way if I want to spend a good chunk of my life doing it?
Should I instead complete my BASI lvl1 in the uk and get a job at my local dry slope teaching at weekends until I achieve the required 35hrs. Then do the same again for my BASI lvl 2 (another 35 hours) |
Carefull - the 35hrs is shadowing or any snowside activity (ie boots/ski hire or running the lifts) you are not qualified and can not teach until you have done the shadow hrs. |
or 1st Aid, Child Protection Module and Criminal Disclosure (or whatever it's called)
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Poster: A snowHead
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IF....IF...you are a good enough skier (and an honest self assessment, or pay somebody like insideout for one) then do BASI 1 in a dome.
Get your 35 + 35 hours shadowing/helping out etc.
Then summer BASI 2 course in Hintertux, just 2 weeks.
BASI 2....done.
I stress that you have to be at 95% of the level to do this, there is not much training really.....more the exams.
My daughter did BASI 1 at 16, two summers later did BASI 2 and is now working in Switz for the winter.
As it happens she loves teaching kids (she spent the previous term teaching in a school for profoundly autistic children and loved that too).
That route will cost you a small fraction of the price of a Gap Course, and will get you qualifioed and ready to work as an instructor in that Gap Year.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you want to teach then do your level one in the uk. Listen to the feedback you get from your level 1 - do they say that you are technically ready for your level 2? Ask them.
I imagine that you would gain a lot of practical experience from teaching (in-between your level 1 & level 2) that would help you become a better ski instructor in the long term and a better candidate for level 2. Some things just cannot be taught on a course (or learned from shadowing). [I am not a ski instructor but this is what I'd expect]
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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?
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All the feedback has been really helpful. Sounds a lot like what I thought. If I am even considering this as a long term viable career option then the best bet is to take my time and make the most out of the earlier qualifications. And if I look on the brightside all this money I'm going to be saving on the course can be spent on more skiing HOLIDAYS
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hell at this rate there'll be more snowheads with badges on their sleeves than the whole ESF . . . and there's this old fart wanting a winter off work and spending a season doing something about his execrable French and rotten skiing on a BASI gap course . . .
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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BigMacB93, another thing no one has mentioned yet, but if you want to get your ISTD (which you should aim for, and be more than capable of if you're 19), then start race training, and racing, now! Join your local ski club whether pastic or indoor, and go every week. It will help you with your level 1 - 3 exams, but also start getting you prepared for the Eurotest.
The money you'll save doing your exams the way suggested above can then be spent on training and exams for your L3 and L4.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| beanie1 wrote: |
| BigMacB93, then start race training, and racing, now! Join your local ski club whether pastic or indoor, and go every week. It will help you with your level 1 - 3 exams, but also start getting you prepared for the Eurotest. |
Yeah, exactly what I was imagining I might need to do. I live like 5 mins from a plastic slope. Monday night here I come. Only problem I have is, they require you bring your own equipment so I'm imagining I'm gonna need to get myself some racing skii's...
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BigMacB93, have a look on the BASI Facebook group - there are often people selling skis on there.
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BigMacB93,
| Quote: |
they require you bring your own equipment so I'm imagining I'm gonna need to get myself some racing skii's...
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There's usually a huge trade in hand-me-downs on the dryslope circuit. Ask at the club when you attend - they should be able to point you in the direction of some bargains.
My friend Cynic, who posts here usually has a few pairs of previously enjoyed skis for sale - you could PM him too.
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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.
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BigMacB93, and if you're going to be dry-sloping so regularly; invest in an iron (proper ski one - temperature is more consistent across plate) and good wax to keep your bases in good nic. We love BUTTA wax and they have a dry-slope specific wax worth getting. It's super sticky though (which is why it's so good) so anticipate needing to do a couple of runs to warm it up/scrape it down before you start racing. (no real need to scrape it after waxing - the dindex will take care of that for you)
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| Quote: |
My friend Cynic, who posts here usually has a few pairs of previously enjoyed skis for sale - you could PM him too.
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Thanks I have sent a PM to Cynic and I will definatly check out the club when I get there.
Just quickly I dont know if any of you have much experience of the race clubs, but is the likelyhood going to be that I am one of the oldest ( and worst ) or is there generally an 18+ club?
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FAQ
