 Poster: A snowHead
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Is there an OFFICIAL ski technicians qualification?
We look for ESF CSIA BASI for ski instructors but what is the official qualification for technicians . I find on the internet several workshops such as Jon's Tuning and Anything Technical who appear to pass on good practice and experience.
I know several instructors are told not to touch bindings on the mountain and tell clients to return to the qualified technicians in the ski shop.
Help?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think Salomon used to run ski technicians courses years ago and I dare say that the manufacturers of the big expensive tuning machines probably do so as well
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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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Salomon does a one day course covering all ski prep, machining and so forth, for which one receives certification. A SH has done the course recently I will ask him to post if he needs prompting.
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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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| Cynic wrote: |
| Salomon does a one day course covering all ski prep, machining and so forth, for which one receives certification. A SH has done the course recently I will ask him to post if he needs prompting. |
think it is run by anything technical at salomons workshops as a southern location
salomon run a rental technicians course but it is normally for shops/ski slope staff, you might be able to get a place and pay to attend, problem with all these things is that if you have the certificate for that course it only really applies to their bindings, each manufacture has different adjustments so in theory you would need to do a course delivered by each manufacturer but most don't even offer courses any more
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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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1969jma,
I've attended the Anything Technical course in Kendal. As you point out they pass on good practce and experience. Anyone who thinks that by attending one of these is an expert is living in a dream! I did find that it did cover the basics but I received as much, if not more, from the session at Jons Ski Tuning. That is highly recommended and I use those techniques to maintain my own and friends skis.
You do walk away with a certificate and, I understand that, some employers for seasonaire jobs consider this as a recommendation. Realistically how much can you learn in a few days? On the course I attended staff from a UK ski slope were there to 'top up' their experience, a sort of employee developement gig. You do get to play with some big kit (edging, waxing, structuring) but other than a cursory few minutes it's not really career changing.
Good point made by CEM regarding bindings settings\adjustments.
I don't know about the quality of manufacturer specific courses, although someone else may come along who does.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Anything Technical used to run some of their courses in Basingstoke (I think) but due to limited space in Salomon's workshop, all their courses are now run in Kendal.
What FraserP said is absolute correct. I also did Anything Technical's 3 days course few years ago, you get a chance to use the stone grinder and other machines. While Anything Technical teaches you the basic, Jon teaches you the finer point of tuning.
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FraserP, Crusader, the sessions you guys did was my half day DIY Tuning Course but I also do a personal one day Tech Foundation Course which is the same course in the morning but in the afternoon we do machine use, welded repairs & binding installation.
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So I am right in believing there is NO qualification for a ski technician?
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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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| 1969jma wrote: |
| So I am right in believing there is NO qualification for a ski technician? |
Yep
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1969jma, It all depends what you mean by qualification.
There is no UK national governing body for ski technician qualificaitions in the UK, so there cannot be a nationally-recognised qualification.
Various ski equipment companies do training courses at the end of which they certify that the candidate has/not passed. Most shops will recognise this, as this is the best on offer.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you for everyone's advice and clarification
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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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It may be worth speaking with http://www.skibootpro.co.uk/Courseinfo.html ... it is true there is no official course .... but as always it is who you know and reputation of he training provider you have done the course with...
Good luck!
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Hello, we offer ski/board technician training courses and are a BSBA (British Ski Bootfitting Association) training centre, we DO give certificates to show attendance. Being near the South coast we do get quite busy pre season. As other posters say there is also Jon in Nottingham (workshop tech), and Andy & Pete at anything technical in Kendal (workshop and boot tech like us)
Whilst not a formal qualification, we have found that having proof that you have attended a course to get a foundation upon which to build with experience 100% gives you an edge when competing for work in resort. We have had some candidates end up in very nice jobs in amazing locations around the world. More info at www.bctt.co.uk and more dates being added to our calendar today.
Regards binding setup a shop owner who is doing things right will get the staff trained by each brand at the start of each season to show correct setup, forward pressure settings and issues to watch out for, including any issues with previous models and obsolete models to be aware of, so that you can also inform the customer correctly as skis come through for servicing.
But we ALWAYS say at the end of the courses, that experience is key once you have seen and tried the foundations. Get some dead skis to practice on from a dry slope or eBay, and practice and then practice. For boots get your ski and board friends round for beers and a foot measuring (heck it is how I started several years ago!) so you see the differences, and see what is a good, and a bad boot fit. Help the local ski club, find a part time job (we take people on through the season full time AND part time for example) and just build your experience. 7 years and thousands of fits and services later and I am still learning every day 
ScottyDog
PS - we looked into a formal qualification. Very hard to fund and get off the ground with current legislation, and if vocational would mean visiting resorts to assess. Worlds best job maybe?! We will keep talking to the brands to see if something more formal can be developed at least, for UK technicians who want to work in our field OR just understand better what is going on under their feet!
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