 Poster: A snowHead
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My Daughter is considering the Internship plus offer with this organisation in Canada for winter 25/26. I wondered if anyone had any experience of them? The package includes the following and costs around £8.5k
Predeparture
Instructor Job Offer
EA Planning Checklist & Program Handbook
Work Visa Guidance and Assistance
Season Preparation - Support & Advice
Online login area with live updates and group chat
Ski Internship
EA Arrival Pack - Hoodie & Printed Materials
Resort Arrival Orientation
Shared Accommodation
Ski Level One Coaching
On Snow Analysis
Technical & Theory Sessions
Ski Association Membership
Digital Training Manuals & Materials
Ski Level One Exam Fees
Resort Employee Season Pass
Access to Resort Employee Transport
Advice & Deals on Equipment
EA Program Manager
Social Events
Assistance Finding Accommodation Post Level One Program
Ski Internship Plus Also Includes
Park & Freeride Training
Avalanche Safety Course
First Aid Training
All Terrain Personal Development
Ski Level Two Coaching
On Snow Analysis
Technical & Theory Sessions
Thanks,
Chris
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@ChrisP3, for some people, these gap year courses work out great, in my view it's a very expensive way to get herself a job, which will take a long time to pay back.
Alternatively (assuming you live in the UK),
L1 BASI/IASI Course £500/600 at an indoor dome (plus any accommodation costs if needed.)
Do your shadowing/teaching hours at a local dry slope/indoor slope
L2 BASI/IASI Course somewhere like Hintertux £600/700 + lift pass + accommodation and travel c.£2000
For around £3k you've got the same level of qualification needed to teach out in Canada (assuming that's where the EA course is run) as the internship program offers.
The £5.5k you've saved can be spent on Avalanche training, First Aid, Working Holiday Visa, flights etc etc and you'll still have plenty left over.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Thu 19-09-24 12:31; 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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Thanks SWskier, sounds like good advice.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Work Visa Guidance and Assistance
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Perhaps just the wording, but I'd want something more of a guarantee there will be a visa at the end of it. If not it's rather pointless. Most people I've met going on these courses already have a working holiday visa in place.
As said by @swskier, these courses are always very expensive. You are paying heavily for convenience. But if budget is not an issue the people I know who have done these kind of courses (with insideout rather than EA ski) did have a great time.
The other big advantage to the route proposed by @swskier, is that you get some shadowing/teaching before committing too much time and money. So many of the gap year kids on these courses finish them to find out teaching is not what they expected and they actually don't enjoy it. If your goal is to get lots of personal ski time it's definitely not the best job choice!
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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 @boarder2020, we have the same worries. If she’s not 100% committed to doing a number of seasons as an instructor, it’s a lot of money to spend and however much she says she is, I have my doubts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@ChrisP3, yes the dream of cruising round a ski resort all day as an instructor is much better than the reality for a lot.
One girl who had done a similar course was particularly put out when her job was mostly picking crying kids up on nursery slopes. Also the instructor work just isn't consistent, and what's even worse that it used to be the case you had to turn up in the morning to then find out that actually no there wasn't anything for you today because understandably they give priority to higher qualified and long serving instructirs. Finally, pay is not great, most earn more as a waitress and means they have daytime's free for skiing too
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@ChrisP3, just to illustrate the other side of the coin, so to speak. Mrs t_m had a sabbatical from work and she did one of these Canadian courses (it was in Fernie). Everything was a great success, she loved the whole experience, and as a result she has been working for a Swiss ski school for a number of years. I guess the difference is that she paid for it all herself, so the whole experience of spending a season in the Rockies made it value for money. The other comments above are perfectly valid though; nobody ever got rich working as a ski instructor, so it’s unlikely to result in a positive financial return.
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@ChrisP3,
A similar conversation to, "of course I'll walk and feed the puppy" 
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@swskier, perhaps the €6k buys the “job at the end of it”? Or at least that’s what the kids were led to believe?
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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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| abc wrote: |
| @swskier, perhaps the €6k buys the “job at the end of it”? Or at least that’s what the kids were led to believe? |
Resorts need a surplus for the busy Xmas/NY period. So entrapping a load of kids fresh out of ski school with a free season pass and dream of being a ski instructor works well. Give them a 0 hours contract. When they realise there's no regular work (or if there is work it's babysitting kids which is not what they had in mind) and their friends are much better off as waiters (financially and better ski time) and they want to quit, remind them that they would lose their free ski pass. They have no way to pay for a new pass so stick it out until the end of the season then quit. Then the cycle starts over.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| abc wrote: |
| @swskier, perhaps the €6k buys the “job at the end of it”? Or at least that’s what the kids were led to believe? |
Resorts need a surplus for the busy Xmas/NY period. So entrapping a load of kids fresh out of ski school with a free season pass and dream of being a ski instructor works well. Give them a 0 hours contract. When they realise there's no regular work (or if there is work it's babysitting kids which is not what they had in mind) and their friends are much better off as waiters (financially and better ski time) and they want to quit, remind them that they would lose their free ski pass. They have no way to pay for a new pass so stick it out until the end of the season then quit. Then the cycle starts over. |
Yeah, these guys will end up in Club Med type places, so it'll be glorified baby sitting no doubt. You wouldn't expect much more with a L1 qualification.
Feels a bit immoral business model wise, but there's enough demand every year, so they keep taking their money.
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You know it makes sense.
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What @swskier says...do the LI in a dome, shadow, L2 at Tux etc.
That's what both my kids did and they went on to have many good seasons all around the world before turning to "real" jobs.
HOWEVER (!): to do this you have to be good enough to pass all the exams, the Gap courses do provide a lot of training, and so long as the pupil isn't a total dosser passing is pretty much guaranteed. A self arranged L1, L2 does not. It would be such a waste if you failed.
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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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I never understood the pull of being a ski instructor. It’s certainly not the right path if you want to do a lot of free skiing. I guess it’s a way to the mountains but unless you really have a passion for babysitting / teaching on low pay it seems a duff deal to me. Get a job that covers your costs and gives you the time to go skiing with the people you want to go skiing with on the terrain you want to ski.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks to all the advice, my daughter has actually listened to reason and decided against going ahead with the EA package.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@BobinCH, probably why a lot of the L4's move away from teaching punters to training instructors. They get to do more "proper" skiing, and you can make a nice living from it.
I also know a few people in your neck of the woods that have 1 main client that funds their entire season, and top it up further with instructor training.
One example, an instructor in Verbier, £50k for the season to teach/ski with a family, plus an apartment for the season in Verbier also. Nice gig if you can find it.
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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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The gap year courses in Canada are the "safe" way of having a season somewhere new, far away from home. Travel, accommodation, lessons, a social circle and a support network are all in place - for a price. Be aware that a Working Holiday Visa is not required in order to do the course (BUT check this for the current situation), it could legally be done as a tourist - in fact, as you only get one chance to have a WHV, it is pointless "wasting" it on the course and then not being able to get a WHV for the following season. If you look at the programme in the original post, there is no time for any work - the course is usually: 1 week orientation, 4 weeks L1 prep, 1 week L1 tests, 1 week free, 4/5 weeks L2 prep, 1 week L2 tests. The 13 weeks (and the season) are already accounted for by the course prep and tests, so there is little or no time to actually work as an instructor.
The "job guarantee" is nothing of the sort. The student has to pass the tests, and while L1 is fairly easy, L2 is much harder. The Canadian schools are picky about who they employ - the course instructors are themselves employed by the ski school and will be the referees for any applicants. Anyone who is late for lessons, can't be assed, has poor communication skills etc. is not getting a job in any school that charges guests $440+ a lesson and the course instructors are looking for this during the course (even if it's not part of the formal L1 and L2 assessment).
Next obvious point is: Where will the OP's daughter be qualified to instruct, and where can she actually work?
If she does well on the course and wants to go back to the same ski school in Canada the following season, then this is fairly straightforward. As long as she hasn't used her WHV on the course, she can line up a job before she leaves and then hope that she gets a WHV for the following season. (Formally she has to get the WHV first, but once she has that, she gets back in touch with the ski school and gets the formal job offer. The Canadian WHV is not dependent on a job offer.) If she's "wasted" the WHV, and for subsequent years, things get complicated. The ski school needs to apply for a Visa, and these are very limited in number and a bit of a lottery, and a L2 probably won't meet the criteria (or the school will prioritise the highest-rated instructors).
Can she teach in Europe? Q1: Does she have the right to work in the EU? If not, there's not much chance of an instructor job.
Q2: She has the right to work (i.e. an EU passport) but has a Canadian qualification? I know some schools in Austria accept this, but different countries have different rules, so options might be limited.
Australia/NZ? There is the possibility of using the Canadian qualification for their season (i.e. when it's summer in the North) - subject to Visas etc.
@swskier has met people doing the Austrian ‘Anwärter’ (L1) course. These courses run every November and December in places like Kitzsteinhorn, take 10-12 days and cost around €1,500 (plus accommodation) if booked directly through the local Ski Associations such as the Salzburgerland association (https://www.sbssv.at/). There are companies that organise pre-course training (these are probably the students that @swskier has met) similar to the ones run in Canada, and at a smilar cost, but these sessions are not compulsory - just as in Canada, students can apply direct to take part in the actual 10-day examination courses.
The "job guarantee" is again dependent on the student passing the course, but some courses require the students to have a formal job offer before they can participate. Most of the students are Scandis and Dutch looking to work a season. They do the L1 in Nov/Dec before going off to their ski schools in mid-December, where the younger instructors spend Christmas and New Year as glorified childminders before the ski school supervisors get a real look at what they can do in January. Those wanting to go further will train for their L2 ("Landes 1") at the ski school and take that exam at the end of the season. The obvious sticking point for anyone from the UK is the EU right to work, without which there is very little chance of getting a job. Another issue is language skills - a typical Dutch instructor can teach a class in English, German, Dutch and possibly French so is a flexible resource for an employer. A monoglot Brit is far less employable.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 4-11-24 13:00; edited 2 times in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| quinton wrote: |
| The gap year courses in Canada are the "safe" way of having a season somewhere new, far away from home. Travel, accommodation, lessons, a social circle and a support network are all in place - for a price. ... |
Aye. The problem with that is that as an employer that's just a kid on a package holiday paid for by mum & dad. It tells me that the kid has been very much "looked after" and I should look at anything they appear to have achieved as being a bit of a family team effort. If they can't arrange stuff like this under their own steam, what can they do?
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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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Nobody is getting a job in Canada or Europe unless they can meet the employers' requirements - as I've noted above - and not everyone on these courses is a gap-year kid. You're also being a bit unfair and stereotyping the kids - being forced to think on their own two feet on the top of the mountain can be the making of them and there is no way for them to fudge their way through the L1 and L2 courses - they have to perform throughout the course and on the exam days.
The courses are not just about skiing - the participants can already ski - but as much about customer service skills, class control and organisation, lesson planning, taking responsibility for safety and making learning fun as much as they are about learning how to teach other people how to ski or improve their skiing.
Hence my advice to not waste the WHV on the course in Canada - there is no time for a job on these courses and you might not make the grade, or you might want to return another time and work in hospitality, retail or some other resort job that might give some skiing time.
In Austria I've seen the new, young instructors work in the kids' area for the busy holiday period, before the schools take a closer look at their skiing and general skills and attitude in January. Christmas/New Year is a sort of probation period and it's not unusual for some to be weeded out in January or for them to leave of their own accord.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| quinton wrote: |
@swskier has met people doing the Austrian ‘Anwärter’ (L1) course. These courses run every November and December in places like Kitzsteinhorn, take 10-12 days and cost around €1,500 (plus accommodation) if booked directly through the local Ski Associations such as the Salzburgerland association (https://www.sbssv.at/). There are companies that organise pre-course training (these are probably the students that @swskier has met) similar to the ones run in Canada, and at a smilar cost, but these sessions are not compulsory - just as in Canada, students can apply direct to take part in the actual 10-day examination courses. |
Nope, they were doing BASI L1's, and they all had jobs lined up (not in Austria) and knew exactly where they were off to.
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| quinton wrote: |
Can she teach in Europe? Q1: Does she have the right to work in the EU? If not, there's not much chance of an instructor job.
Q2: She has the right to work (i.e. an EU passport) but has a Canadian qualification? I know some schools in Austria accept this, but different countries have different rules, so options might be limited.
Australia/NZ? There is the possibility of using the Canadian qualification for their season (i.e. when it's summer in the North) - subject to Visas etc. |
On this bit, working opportunities are out there, 90 days in Aosta every season, so places like Interski are possible. In Andorra, visas are possible for Brits as they're non EU. In Finland, I know people who have got visas to work the season up there.
In Austria, there are seasonal work visas, but unless you know someone it's unlikely, as there's enough Dutch instructors making their way down here that speak English, that there's no demand for the hassle for the visa process.
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@swskier, Apologies for making the assumption. The Austrian ‘Anwärter’ courses are already running on Kitzsteinhorn, so based on your location I assumed that you'd met the cohort doing the same training at Hintertux.
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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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@quinton, no I was in Kaprun where there are Anwärter courses running, but my 1st aid course was with a different provider and those kids were all doing BASI L1s.
Quite frankly these kids are being absolutely ripped off, one guy I spoke with over the weekend had already realised he'd wasted way more money than he needed, and he'd only arrived 2 days earlier. They'll all realise it, if not by the end of the course, but certainly by the end of the season.
But, there'll still be just as many students lined up next season to part with their €6k and the provider will laugh their way to the bank.
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| Quote: |
€6k these kids were paying, couldn't believe it when someone told me. I felt really bad for them. A qualification that would cost £600 indoors in the UK (ok 2/3s of them weren't British) plus a 1st aid course which for me to attend was only £110.
Daylight robbery!
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4 day indoor course basis level 1 course is around £500, so £125 per day. Skinewgen offer a 10 week level 1 and 2 course in meribel including accomodation, lift pass, 20 meals per week, and a load of non related extras such as avalanche training, off piste/race/freestyle training. Cost is from £5000 so £100 per day. Which seems much better value than indoor!
Of course you can get the qualifications much cheaper. But you are paying for the convenience of having someone else organise everything. If you actually need the qualification and want to spend 10 weeks in the mountains it's not awful value imo. The accomodation and food must be worth a good chunk of it alone. Still, much better ways to spend £5k if your goal is just to ski lots.
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I never understood the pull of being a ski instructor. It’s certainly not the right path if you want to do a lot of free skiing. I guess it’s a way to the mountains but unless you really have a passion for babysitting / teaching on low pay it seems a duff deal to me.
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Couldn't have said it better. But there are many people that suggest instructor courses as a good method to improve your own skiing, even if you don't want the qualification. While I disagree, a few definitely get drawn into it that way.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| Quote: |
I never understood the pull of being a ski instructor. It’s certainly not the right path if you want to do a lot of free skiing. I guess it’s a way to the mountains but unless you really have a passion for babysitting / teaching on low pay it seems a duff deal to me.
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Couldn't have said it better. But there are many people that suggest instructor courses as a good method to improve your own skiing, even if you don't want the qualification. While I disagree, a few definitely get drawn into it that way. |
It's definitely ONE way to improve your skiing. Is it the most efficient way? Not really no. A week of performance training will likely make you better than a week long instructor course.
My skiing has definitely improved through every instructor exam i've done. However, my skiing most improved on the week of training I did prior to my L3 tech exam. I wouldn't have passed the L3 tech exam if it wasn't for that week of training.
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FAQ
