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Ski Gap Year - HELP!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I am an 18 year old british student set on taking a Gap Year with a friend between sixth form and university, however I am finding it hard to research as there is so much information out there! Puzzled

The ideal thing I'm looking for is an agency that secures a 3-5 month job placement (any kind of job, preferably bar/restaurant), but also provides accomodation and ski pass. I've seen there are such placements, but they are mostly from ski intructor agencies.

I am totally lost due to the vast range that is on offer, please help!!! I would be very grateful if anyone could shed some light on the situation for me! Very Happy

Thanks,
Mehdi
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Have a look on www.natives.co.uk
They should be able to provide job listings plus other helpful info on ski season working, etc.
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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?
Thanks for the speedy reply, but i've been on www.natives.co.uk and it hasn't proved to be very helpful! Most of the job placements in Europe needed the native language as a requirement, and I could not find much in Canada.

Also all of the placements were for this season, I cannot find anything for 2011/2012 season?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Most companies won't be recruiting for next season until April and the season ends - they've got plenty enough to be thinking about.

One big issue may be your age - at 16 you can't work in bars in the US and Canada, and even in Europe you are likely to struggle to find anything.

Many of the TOs will not want people under 18, many either haven't got a driving licence or have very little experience of driving, especially in another country, and insurance can be a problem. They also don't want 16 year-olds running chalets or ski hosting for various reasons.

Good luck with sorting it, you may find you are in a better position to be an assistant for ski lessons, and get some experience on the slopes and free lift pass, though the pay won't be great, and you may end up being on the books but not actually getting any hours as they want to keep costs down.

Final suggestion from me - there's a thread on here about volunteering, perhaps worth getting in touch with the organisations that do this and offer yourself full time for a season to them to help - they may cover some of your costs in return for hard work and dedication.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'm 18, and will be 19 by the time i go on the ski season. I have been driving since i was 17, and will have 2 years driving experience by then. Will this help with anything?

Thanks for the advice about the volunteering, i will take a look.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
MehdiA, Apply to Skiworld as a kitchen porter / night porter. No language requirement. You will have a blast.

They start recruiting end of April ish.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I just looked on Skiworld, but it looks like it is just for organising accomodation, not job applications? Also, we would obviously like to maximise our ski time, so how much time would we get off to ski if we were to do a kitchen porter job? (What is a night porter?!)

Thanks Smile
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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!
http://www.skiworld.ltd.uk/ski/holiday/Work_For_Us/518
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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.
MehdiA, Come on, get with the programme.

KP: Snow time 11:00 to 16:00 Work 07:30 till 11:00 and 17:00 till 21:00 (all times approximate)

NP: Snow time First lifts till when you need to sleep in the afternoon before the night shift which starts 23:00. Work 23:00 till 07:00

So NP looks after chalet hotel at night. Sees the drinkers get to bed, does fire checks, sweeps snow, bakes cakes, lays up for breakfast, makes dinner for late arrivals on changeover day etc.

Did you notice First lifts!

One day off a week as well.

Oh and make sure you have some experience working in your local pub before you apply.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
gap year Puzzled do you know how much the uni fees will be for 2012 Puzzled maybe you need to reconsider Puzzled Shocked Shocked
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Blockhead makes a good point, with the money you save from going to uni a year earlier, therefore missing the tuition rise, you could afford to do a season without working Toofy Grin
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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.

http://youtube.com/v/eKFjWR7X5dU
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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
Yes that is true but if Mehdi is anything like myself I do not know what I want to do and need a year to get my poo-poo together and do some work experience! AND ski season sounds sweet!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
bensamccann, You guys need to get over to Natives - but use the Search function before asking questions.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
swskier wrote:
http://www.skiworld.ltd.uk/ski/holiday/Work_For_Us/518


thanks swskier, and we have looked on Natives, but all of the jobs available are for this season. I guess you have to wait till April ish to apply for jobs for next season?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just a thought...apply for Uni for 2011 (if its not too late,) then defer until 2012. This may mean you pay 2011 fees.........I think!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
If Natives isn't working for you, you're going about it the wrong way. Lots of info over there, and good banter. Alternatively, just go to all the TO/etc websites and apply direct. Also worth checking the jobs sections on the resorts websites - you can often find local bars offering jobs form there, which often seem to pay better than through the TO route. Worth emailing any bars you can find contact details for too.

Haven't read the thread properly, but if you're applying for the 2011/12 season, wait 'til the 10/11 one is over.
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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?
Not relevant till this season is over but http://www.jobs-in-the-alps.co.uk/index.html for native speaker jobs and http://www.freeradicals.co.uk/ for non-native speaker jobs.

To be honest, you don’t seem to have that much effort in. Natives is packed with info. There isn’t too much, just take your time and read it all! You’ve got till April before you need to start applying.

Personally, I was a barman for two years in a bar/restaurant and a Rep for the third.

The bar job was 2pm till close or 4pm till close, 5 days a week will accommodation, food plus £200 a week. I had to buy my own ski pass but the resort workers pass was the same as a two-week pass so it wasn’t a biggie. After tips, I came out of the season with enough money for a non-working summer travelling around South America.

The Rep job was very easy but I knew the resort and a lot of the locals by then which helped. Accommodation and ski pass were included. Less money but could ski all day, six day a week assuming none of the guests hurt themselves.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
MehdiA, i think if you wait around a bit, chill out with a spliff, get your mum to do your washing, scratch your ar$e and the perfect job will fall right into your lap !!! ... ahh, you have done all those and still nothing.... hmmmm.

there is more info out there than ever before and you need to show a bit of ooomph - im not sensing that !!!

drop a line when you have put at least some effort in (joining snowheads is not really dificult so that does not count), and ther will be loads of people to give you proper advice and help if you are actually serious.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
LizzieB wrote:
Just a thought...apply for Uni for 2011 (if its not too late,) then defer until 2012. This may mean you pay 2011 fees.........I think!


Sadly no. If you defer you will incur the increased 2012 fees. I've just been on an uni open day and the admissions staff there were suggesting that for this reason it might well be better to take the gap year after uni rather than before.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Libertine wrote:
MehdiA, i think if you wait around a bit, chill out with a spliff, get your mum to do your washing, scratch your ar$e and the perfect job will fall right into your lap !!! ... ahh, you have done all those and still nothing.... hmmmm


Inverse snobbery...

Incredibly intelligent way to treat a keen, 18 year old youngster asking to glean something from your superior wisdom.

I salute you, Sir.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hello you can find more companies to look at on http://www.gapwork.com/ultimate_canadian_jobsearch.shtml
or
http://www.gapwork.com/canada.shtml

Both pages provide links to some big organisations specialising in seasonal ski jobs in Canada.

Hope that helps!
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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!
galpinos wrote:
Personally, I was a barman for two years in a bar/restaurant and a Rep for the third.


Cheers galpinos, could you give me any information about the bar job you had, any contact details? or the name of the TO you used if you did?

Also, i have put effort into looking for jobs, I posted on this forum as it had a good rep, and i hoped some more mature members could give me some valuble information from previous experiences. So it is not very helpful that certain people are critisizing rather than helping.

Thanks for the help anyway.
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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.
Quote:

So it is not very helpful that certain people are critisizing rather than helping.

MehdiA, No, it's not at all helpful. But it's a pretty minor kind of irritation and you will need to show quite a lot of determination and initiative to get yourself out there for a season so you can't let yourself be affected by such a teeny thing. It's too early to apply for jobs (and you'll probably have to apply for loads, and maybe pay your own expenses for interviews, too) but it's not too early to prepare yourself in other ways. For example, you could learn some French or German, or (as suggested above) get bar work experience if you don't already have any. You could also almost certainly get KP work and if you're a fast learner you'll emerge from that with a lot of useful skills and knowledge.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
MehdiA, I would have thought that you have been given some 'valuable information'.

If you are irritated by some of the responses then I would ask yourself whether you can survive the rough and tumble of working a ski season i.e. shared accomodation, long hours (changeover day), resort flu bugs, new co-workers etc. If you do not have some resilience then you will find it very difficult and could well be home by Christmas.

Get that KP job in your local pub and you will soon find out if you can hack it.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Quote:

I would ask yourself whether you can survive the rough and tumble of working a ski season

yes, that was sort of what I was getting at in my post; resilience is key personal quality for anyone wanting to work a season.

And a GSOH. wink
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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.
Its not as easy as a few years back

Unemployment is high in Europe, so young locals will be first

Skier numbers are down so Tour Operators, Hotels will hire less personnel & they are likely to firstly re-recruit people they have had to lay off.
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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
Yeah, i know it takes reselience and persistance. I have had bar experience and a KP job in a pub so i fully know what to expect.

But thanks for the information about only being able to apply after April.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
MehdiA,
At present the HR departments of Tour Operators (TOs) will be concentrating on this season - getting replacements out to the resorts at short notice. they'll start looking at 2011/12 late April onwards.
As mentioned above, Natives is the best place for you to look and ask questions, but do some research first as just about any question you have will have been answered in the past - check out the job descriptions & use the search function. Also you can send Natives your CV - but I would advise you get relevant experience for the role(s) you are looking at before you send it.
We (the regular posters/fonts of some knowledge) get fed up of questions like 'How do I get a season job?' & tend to be negative/nasty in response (you can only answer the same question so many times before you get fed up).
A few points you should take into account. It can be difficult for friends to work together, especially if you are inflexible on where you want to go or what work you will do. Jobs in Canada with TOs are much prized & the TOs know this. They therefore tend to go to returning staff who have proved they can hack a seaon & proved they are good employees. Finally, the TOs HR departments do look at the posts on Natives (& I'm sure, to a lesser extent on Snowheads). It has been known for people to have job offers withdrawn after posting comments about their potential employer - it's not that hard for them to work out who is behind the registered name!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Be Nice please! da haterz. i am doing an instructors course in val d'isere on my gap year, which includes a free month of accommodation at the end. admittedly you don't get paid, but it's way more fun than working.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:

i am doing an instructors course in val d'isere on my gap year, which includes a free month of accommodation


Yeah, that's definitely free and not covered in the price you paid for the course...
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
If you want an English speaking hotel that offers 5-8 4 months of work and pay for your lift pass, accommodation and food then The Lodge Morzine is a good place to try. The hotel website is http://www.thelodgemorzine.com/ and if you don't know much about the resort itself then there is information on snowHeads.
Hope that helps
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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?
jim1515 wrote:
hotel that offers 5-8 4 months of work


Cheers jim, but the 5-8? is that the working hours? or the longth of the placement?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Ye gods - looks like the competition isnt up to much for the forthcoming season.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Nadenoodlee wrote:
Ye gods - looks like the competition isnt up to much for the forthcoming season.



you dont think there will be many people going on ski seasons?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
MehdiA wrote:
Nadenoodlee wrote:
Ye gods - looks like the competition isnt up to much for the forthcoming season.



you dont think there will be many people going on ski seasons?


At least 2 for every job.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Kenzie wrote:
At least 2 for every job.


is that more or less than usual?
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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!
MehdiA, I'm afraid that Nadenoodlee was probably being rude. Don't worry about it. Did we mention a GSOH?

The competition for jobs will probably be pretty stiff. there are some interesting threads about it from last year. This one, for example http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=59979&highlight=
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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.
You are unlikely to get a job behind the bar/in a local shop. Bar jobs with TOs mostly go to returners/the experienced, and locally-run bar/shop jobs to locals (shock). Apply through a British TO and you might be able to get a job as a chalet host (if you don't know what that is then search it on natives, they have a whole section about job roles)- a big company like Crystal is your best chance. They take on the inexperienced (and swiftly fire the worst), especially if you do a one-week cookery course before your interview. Crystal pays you Be Nice please! all, but you don't have to pay for your insurance or your accommodation or your season pass, and for a first season I found them an alright company to work for.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
MehdiA wrote:
Kenzie wrote:
At least 2 for every job.


is that more or less than usual?


That is an average. To be honest will probably be more than that for next season. Sad
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