Working as a Ski Instructor in Canada

Canada is renowned for its huge dumps of snow and quiet pistes and for those instructors that that get there buzz from waist high powder, there is never usually any shortage of this. With great skiing in both the East and the West of the Country and resorts ranging from huge well established resorts and those focusing on backcountry skiing, Canada really does have something for everyone.

What qualifications will you need to work in Canada and how can you go about finding a job there?

What qualifications do I need to work in Canada?

CSIA (Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance) is the governing body for ski Instructors in Canada. If you are looking to work in Canada you will need to apply for a working visa and to qualify for a visa you will need to hold a minimum of a BASI Level 2 qualification (or equivalent). Once you have your BASI Level 2 qualification you will then be able to start applying for positions with Canadian Ski Schools. If you are successful, the ski school will give you a job offer followed by a contract, they will then normally help you to obtain your visa to work for them.

Obtaining the visa is not completely straight forward, firstly the ski school will need to apply for approval to be able to employ a foreign worker. If they are given approval they will then be sent a letter with an approval code which the instructor can take with them to the Embassy to apply for the visa. With this visa, instructors will be given permission to work in a particular resort until the end of the winter season.

Alternatively, without a job offer you can apply for a working holiday visa before heading to Canada. Like Australia, resorts in Canada hold hiring clinics, usually in October, where in some cases they will still be looking for instructors for the winter.

How much will I get paid as an Instructor in Canada?

When comparing hourly wage for Instructors in Canada to Instructors in Europe you will notice quite a difference. In Europe BASI Level 2 instructors would expect to be earning the equivalent to around £19.00ph as opposed to around £11.00ph in Canada.

Tipping in Canada is a lot more common than in Europe and is a part of people’s daily life so this can really help to make up some of the shortfall in the hourly wage. The cost of living in Canada is also exceptionally lower than that of some places in Europe so the lower wage does not really effect the standard of living when you are there.