Leap of faith: becoming a ski instructor in Austria and Switzerland

Working as an instructor in Europe is a dream many aspiring instructors hold, but doing so can be tricky, especially if you’ve little experience.

For Alicia Warr, her 11 week Nonstop instructor course in Canada gave her the confidence and credentials she needed to enter the industry in Austria and Switzerland. And she discovered some valuable trade secrets along the way.

Profile

Name: Alicia Warr
Sport: Ski
Nationality: British

Course: 11 week ski instructor course
Location: Banff, Canada

Qualifications: CSIA level 2
Worked in: Mayrhofen, Austria / Nendaz, Switzerland

The seasonaire dream

After leaving college, I was sure that I wanted to move into seasonal work abroad, and training to become a ski instructor ticked all the boxes. I would get several qualifications and could go on to work all over the world. Nonstop caught my eye, with the locations and experiences on offer. I could have an amazing winter while gaining my instructor qualifications and making the contacts I needed to get a great first job in the ski industry.

I decided Banff, Canada was where I wanted to be. Nonstop were the only company to offer coaching across all three ski areas in Banff: Mount Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. This would give me experience of different terrain and ski hills, and give me even more to add to my CV.

The program was fantastic, with great people, amazing instructors, and perfect snow. I also discovered another major plus of the three ski areas: even after 11 weeks of skiing every day, I was still finding new spots to explore. The MORE program was a highlight and there were a huge variety of adventures to get involved in – from skiing at Kicking Horse to cheering on the Calgary Flames.

A secret weapon

I returned home from Banff with a CSIA level 2 qualification and an even bigger determination to work in the ski industry. I had my heart set on working in Europe and decided that the best route in would be to get a job in a resort and once I was there I could pursue my real goal of working in a ski school. I applied for all kinds of seasonal work and was offered a rep job with a tour company in Schladming, Austria.

Repping was great and I was working in a truly fantastic location, but I wanted to be an instructor. With that goal in mind, I phoned around every Austrian ski school during the early season. As expected, most said they were fully staffed but they still seemed interested that I was already in the country. This turned out to be my secret weapon, and one school asked if I could visit them a couple of days later.

I hopped straight on the train to Mayrhofen and met the director of SMT SkiSchule. He was very impressed with my Canadian qualifications and said he much preferred it to BASI. I was due to start work as an instructor the next day – it was terrifying.

Rookie season in Austria

My first season began as it does for all newbie instructors, teaching beginners the basics and gaining experience. Each morning at SMT SkiSchule, the instructors would stand next to their respective flag to indicate which language they spoke. Guests would then be directed towards us accordingly. Once we had 10 people in our group we took them over to the training slope.

I soon discovered that most guests don’t ask enough questions so, unless you explain every tiny detail of the task, a lot can go wrong in the space of a few minutes. A pile up of little shredders at the bottom of the magic carpet comes to mind.

After only a few weeks I was beginning to teach to a higher level and, with a fantastic season of snow in Mayrhofen, I couldn't wait to get out on the slopes every day. It was an amazing season and I would recommend teaching Austria to anybody. The lifestyle on and off the snow is epic, and prices are more reasonable than France.

Climbing the ladder in Swiitzerland

With a successful season in Austria under my belt, I applied for instructor positions for the following winter and was quickly offered a job in Nendaz, Switzerland. It’s a small resort just outside Verbier in the Quatre Vallées. While the big-name resorts are appealing, applying to smaller resorts can be an effective way to get a foot in the door and gain European experience.

Nendaz is a great place to live and work. It has quiet slopes, and you can ski over the 'M25' to get to Verbier if you so wish. Group sizes were smaller and, as I was a more experienced instructor, my lessons were more varied than in Austria.

As well as the huge bonus of getting paid to do what you love, working as an instructor is a great way to improve your own skiing. Most ski schools offer regular training, which boosts your skills and makes you a better instructor – a huge plus if you want to climb the career ladder.

In Nendaz, we enjoyed rigorous training sessions every week, and were graded on our skiing and teaching abilities. Testament to Nonstop’s coaching, I wasn’t fazed by this type of continual training and assessment. It made me a much better skier and was a lot of fun too.

Carving out a career

Thanks to all my hard work and training I was invited back to Nendaz for a second season. I had carved out the career I was hoping for when I joined Nonstop as a fledgling instructor with a big dream.

The lifestyle in Switzerland is perfect: great terrain and snow with a lively social scene and decent pay. And although living here can be pricey, it’s still very manageable if you find the right job and ski school.

If you want to enter the snowsports industry but don’t have any experience, then a Nonstop course will set you up for a fantastic career. With Nonstop, you get a really solid foundation of training and experience, plus the right attitude, contacts and industry knowledge to help you get a better job and climb the career ladder.

If I could add another string to my bow it would be to learn German or French, as this makes you even more employable as an instructor in Europe and may make it easier to get that first job.

I’ll always be thankful to Nonstop for helping me enter the industry on the right foot, and I’d love to go back to Canada one day – for me, it’s where it all started and was the gateway to my dream career.

Want to get a great ski season job? Take a look at our ski instructor courses / snowboard instructor courses and you could find yourself with a world of new opportunities.