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 and community. But how do you become a ski instructor?
Being a ski instructor is a fun way of living, where you can combine work and your spare time. Two 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. Afterward, you meet up at the ski school, where your working day will begin.
The days at your ski school can vary a lot. Every week new guests arrive at the resort, which 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 look like? Then check out our Snowminds blog and read about our instructor’s experiences!
The education you need, in order to become a ski instructor, can be completed in several ways. When arranging your education through an organization such as Snowminds, there are options to gain your qualification at the start of the season with a job arranged. This way you can start working at ski school after you qualify and choose course options ranging from 2-12 weeks.
With Snowminds, you are also able to take a language course and participate in a kick-off event so you’re prepared before you depart. To make it as easy as possible for you, a ski pass, uniform, and accomodation are arranged! They support and help you throughout the entire process.
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 that will take care of your needs!
The education:
Course packages often also include:
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 starting the qualification days.
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 and take your skiing to a level that 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.
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.
We don’t think that there is 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. Someone who wants to develop and is ready for a challenge as well as has 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 speaking different 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!
To become a ski instructor with Snowminds you have to send an application via the application 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:
The Snowminds team believes that only our imagination sets limits. With destinations on 6 continents, you have many options to get the best experience as an instructor!
With ski instructor courses in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain, 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!
Your destination course will depend on when you want to leave, as the season in Canada, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, and Spain is in our winter season, and the season in South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia will be taking place in our summer season. Watch this sneak peek about our awesome destinations!
Another deciding factor will be if you wish to work during the season and what passport/nationality you hold. Visa requirements and availability differ from country to country, destination to destination. If you are unsure of what opportunities you have at the different destinations, then reach out to the Snowminds team who will be happy to help look at options for you.
Since day one, the Snowminds team has had one goal; to share our passion and to create unique experiences for like-minded ski enthusiasts around the world.
We strive to prepare our instructors so that they have the best opportunity to complete a ski or snowboard instructor education and be the best instructors possible.
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, than the Snowminds Team. Those are big words, but we can guarantee you that we do “whatever it takes” to make it happen!
//Snowminds