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Work Overseas > Ski Resort Jobs

Work in a Ski Resort - your endless winter awaits

Every winter thousands of people of all ages head to the snow to spend their winter in ski resorts. Some of them return year after year to work and play. If you are reading this no doubt you are hoping to join them. Which country will I work in? There are many ski centres around the world. Wherever you find mountains and snow there is some form of snow sport going on. The most popular countries to find work are in: Europe Europe is world-renowned for some of its ski centres. A number of the resorts attract royalty and movie stars to their slopes year after year. The most popular countries to find work are in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Endless Winter Your guide to working in ski resorts Endless Winter is written by a seasoned ski worker. It contains information on the types of jobs you can find at the resorts plus lists hundreds of contacts for landing jobs in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. This guide is not available in the shops, you can't get it anywhere else but here. Pages: e-book 105, printed book 152 (The information in both books is the same. There are more pages in the print book because of the way it must be designed for printing. ) e-book Price: $25.00 (incl GST) Printed book Price: $35.00 (incl GST, printing, ring-binding and postage of $4.00)

United Kingdom

There are five main ski centres in the Scottish Highlands where resort jobs can be found. The Scottish ski resorts are small in comparison to Europe but are very popularwith travellers from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa because of the three Entry Clearances available to them which allows them to live, work and play in the UK.

Canada

Canada is known for having some of the best ski and snowboard areas in the world. Places such as Banff, Jasper, Calgary and Whistler are universally known. Travellers and Canadians gravitate toward the ski areas in large numbers, which is good news for those seeking work because all these resorts, from budget to luxry, need vast numbers of staff to cater for their visitor's whims. Canada has a working holiday visa available to citizens aged 18 to 30 years from a number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, Britain (students only), Ireland, japan, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, The Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and special arrangements with citizens of the USA making Canada a very popular work and ski destination.

United States of America

Like Canada, America has some universally known ski resorts such as Aspen and Vail. Unless you have a green card to work in the United States of America, your chance of gaining employment in a ski resort is limited. However, all is not lost as many of the resorts will sponsor internationls. Full details are in Endless Winter.

Japan

When you think of Japan you might not immediately think of ski resorts. However, Japan is one of the hottest ski destinations and for good reason. It provides a kaleidoscope of cultural experiences mixed with unique hospitality and great ski areas. In fact, Japan has the largest number of ski and snowboard resorts in the world, with over 600 resorts dotted over the Japanese islands, from the northern island of Hokkaido to the main southern island of Kyushu. Japan has a working holiday agreement in place with a number of countries which allows travellers to find ski resort jobs.

Australia

When you think about Australia you might think of beautiful beaches and never-ending outback. Now add great ski fields to the equation. The resorts are based in New South Wales and Victoria and attract visitors throughout the season from June to September. Australia has a working holiday agreement in place with a number of countries that allows travellers to work in the ski fields.

New Zealand

Whenever you are in New Zealand, the 'land of the long white cloud', you're never too far from a ski slope so this is good news if you wish to work on one. New Zealand has a working holiday agreement with a number of countries allowing travelers to work in the ski fields.

What jobs are available?

There is an astounding variety of jobs available in ski resorts including the following. It is advisable to apply for a specific position rather than 'anything'.

• hospitality: bartending, waiting, housekeeping (chalet staff), room service, bellhops, drivers;
• office: reception, reservations, word processing, payroll;
• retail: sales assistants, cashiers;
• ski rental: customer service; file, wax and mend skis;
• other: ski-lift operators, attendants, technicians, ticket sellers, nannies, medical staff, public parking attendants, snowmakers, groomers and shovellers, rescuers;
• ski and snowboard instructors.
  

Qualifications required - general

There are two things you are required to have before you can gain employment in a resort.
1) You must have the appropriate work visa or working holiday visa;
2) Some experience in the field of employment where you are seeking a position. Employers aren’t interested in training travellers as they know you are really only there for one season. Some of the luxury resorts may not even consider you without extensive experience or a formal qualification.

Qualifications required - ski and snowboard instructors

To work as a ski or snowboard instructor you must be qualified. Most countries have a governing ski and snowboard body administering qualifications. If you have a qualification obtained from one country, it is more than likely transferable by contacting the relevant body in the country you would like to work. This can be particularly handy also if you want to use an existing qualification to gain entry to a higher level course.

If you are considering working a season in a ski resort our guide Endless Winter is your passport to making your dream come true. Visit our bookstore for details.