Have you considered becoming a ski or snowboard instructor? We have created an easy “how to become a ski instructor” – guide, so you can make your dream come true!

A GUIDE FOR YOU, WHO WANTS TO BECOME A SKI INSTRUCTOR!

Ski instructors or snowboard instructors are people you will meet at ski resorts all over the world. They are a part of the local environment. But how do you become a ski instructor?

LIFE AS A SKI INSTRUCTOR

Being a ski instructor is a fun way of living, where you can combine work and your spare time. The days are rarely the same, and instructor life is filled with new people and experiences.

A normal working day as a ski instructor typically looks like this: you wake up and catch the first lift up to the mountain. Then you can hit the slope for an hour, all by yourself on the freshly prepared slopes. Afterwards, you meet up at the ski school, where your working day begins.

The days at your ski school can vary a lot. Every week new guests arrive at the resort and that means the number of working hours can differ from day to day and from week to week.

Do you want to read more about what a working day and the life of an instructor looks like? Then check out our Snowminds blog and read about our instructors’ experiences!

HOW TO BECOME A SKI INSTRUCTOR?

The education you need, in order to become a ski instructor, can be finished in several ways. Snowminds can help you to get a job at a ski school after your season or do a course for 2-7 weeks. We also offer a language course and a kick-off event so you’re up to date before you depart. To make it as easy as possible for you, a ski pass, uniform, and arranging accommodation are included! We’ll support and help you throughout the entire process.

HOW DOES THE TRAINING FOR A SKI INSTRUCTOR LOOK LIKE?

The education through Snowminds consists of everything you can possibly need to be ready for life as a ski instructor.

When applying through Snowminds, a full experience is awaiting you. Everything will be arranged by a passionate team who will take care of your needs!

The education:

• Before your season you will receive Snowminds prepping material with all the important information about the trip.
• Kick-Off  Event where you will meet all the other instructors, team leaders and the team behind Snowminds. Here you will again receive a lot of information, which will prepare you for the start of the season.
• Education and training on and off the slopes in the weeks leading up to the exam. You will be divided into groups with people who have the same ski experience. In the groups you will practice on your technique, this practice is required, as you will teach the same at the ski school. Our highly professional instructors will guide you through this so that you can get a great start to the season!
• During the training, we create video analysis to make it easier to review your technique in every detail. It’s also possible to get advice on it so that you are able to improve your skiing even more
• Language is a big part of education. In Austria and Spain, it is required that you teach in the native language. Therefore, the focus will be on the specific languages during your course
• In order for you to get closer to your new colleagues, there will be a lot of team-building fun activities.

The education will also include:

• Transportation to your destination.
• Housing and half-board during the course.

HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED TO BECOME A SKI INSTRUCTOR?

At Snowminds we have participants with skiing experience of 2 to 20+ weeks. It is difficult to define how experienced you should be. If you have been skiing for e.g. 3 weeks, it is recommended that you choose one of our longer courses. That way you can train before education.

Snowminds has an incredibly high pass rate (more than 90% of the participants pass their course). If you don’t pass, it can be due to the skiing level, the language level or that you just had a bad day, which can happen to anyone.

We recommend that you participate in a course as long as possible, regardless of the skiing level. If you do so, you will get the most out of your gap year. Taking your skiing to another level, you wouldn’t think was possible!

Other than that, it is possible to choose one of our specially designed ski or snowboard camps. The camps will optimize your skills regardless of the level. You can participate in these camps before you go on your Snowminds course, to make sure you are all set and ready.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO DO AN ENTIRE SEASON?

Snowminds also offers a lot of other options if you don’t have time for an entire season. We have many other educations and camps for you. That way you can travel for a shorter period, and still gain a lot of practice, development and an instructor certificate.

WHO CAN APPLY?

We don’t think that there is the one perfect candidate for the job as a ski instructor. We believe that a versatile team is the strongest.

What we look for in a candidate is a strongly motivated person, who loves skiing/snowboarding. Who wants to develop themselves and is ready for a challenge as well as an amazing opportunity and experience. Our best advice for you, is to be yourself, don’t be afraid to show who you are – we appreciate that!

A bonus is if you are good at languages and have teaching experience. It is not required, and in our opinion, that it is something that anyone can learn and master – as long as you are motivated!

HOW DO I APPLY?

To become a ski instructor with Snowminds you have to send an application via the booking form on Snowmind’s website. From here, you will be guided through the entire recruitment process.

When you apply to become a ski instructor with Snowminds this is how it works:

• You apply via the application form at the website. Here you submit your contact information and what trip you want to go for.
• Snowminds will always give you answers to your application. If your application is interesting to us, we will call for an interview invite. The conversation will take place online.
• Before the interview, we ask you to fill out the rest of the application form, which includes your CV, motivational letter, picture etc. Then we can get to know you better before the interview.
• Once the job interview is done, you will receive an answer after one week.
• If you are lucky to get a job, you are guaranteed a season as an instructor with Snowminds.
• If you are going to Japan or Canada you will also have an online interview with the ski school to be 100% sure, that it is a good match. Besides that, you will have to make a visa application (working holiday visa) to be able to work there.
• WHERE CAN I GO?

Snowminds believes that only our imagination sets limits. With destinations on 6 continents, you have many options to get the best experience as an instructor!

The ski instructor education takes place in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa and Austria. All the countries are very different from each other concerning language and culture. But all of them have one thing in common. No matter where you go, you will have an incredible time!

It all depends on when you want to leave, as the season in Canada, Japan, Austria and Spain is in the winter season, and the season in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia will be taking place over the summer. Watch this sneak peek about our awesome destinations!

TRAVEL WITH SNOWMINDS TO GET THE BEST EXPERIENCE DURING YOUR SEASON!

Since day one Snowminds had one goal; to share our passion and to create unique experiences for like-minded ski enthusiasts around the world.

We try to prepare our instructors so that they have the opportunity to complete a ski or snowboard instructor education. After which they must be able to be on their own with a foreign course participant.

To support you on this journey we dare to say, that you won’t find a more competent, experienced and most of all passionate team to help you, no other than the Snowminds Team. That is huge words, but we can guarantee you that we do “whatever it takes” to make it happen!

START YOUR APPLICATION HERE!

//Snowminds