Working snow season for beginner

[GapYearSnow]

Hello,

Really pleased to find there's a dedicated snow and ski board :)

I'm looking for advice as we're not snowboard/skiers ourselves.

My son, just turned 19, has enjoyed snowboarding at a local indoor slope and would like to use his gap year to go snowboarding proper.
He understands that he would have to work during the trip/season and fund the whole thing and is happy to do so.
He has about £4000 in savings from P/T job and b'day money, so may or may not access that - perhaps depending on airfare needed
He was wondering about Canada/America. Failing that, Europe (obviously cheaper airfare)
I have looked online but finding it difficult- I'll find a lovely group for young people then realise it's holiday only- not working alongside.
I've read mixed opinions on visas needed for north America.
If it was Europe would there be language issues or are there lots of Brits that do this? Hope that doesn't sound too Little England!!
He's a quiet lad but he will put himself out there and I think this could be so good for him before university.
Any advice appreciated- thank you.

Not really. The UK already has such schemes running with various other countries and it is accepted that all such schemes have strict limits on participant numbers, and often on the types of work that people can do or the minimum qualifications and experience required.

It is even possible, as pp above, to work in the EU if a person has the required skills and experience, and if the EU country concerned accepts that the position cannot be filled by an EU/EEA citizen. If any qualified, time-served car mechanics are looking for a job, I can put them in touch with a few car dealerships and workshops here in the EU who would love to sponsor them for a work visa - but for a 19 year old with no qualifications, prospects are not so good.

@GapYearSnow my friend’s ds worked on Vancouver island

Just confirming post Brexit working in EU is a no - a lot of people I know had to come back to UK and some are still jobless although 1 managed to use his skills in Canada.

I’ve never skied in Canada, but Whistler is the big name. My DS is hoping to ski a bit (when he’s not studying!) at Mount Tremblant near Montreal. There will be loads of other lesser known places and if your DS gets offered anything I’d grab it! I love skiing and love the little less well known places a lot more than the bigger more expensive places.

My understanding is that there would be limited numbers on any young person’s visa scheme if it could be agreed. My DC is desperately hoping something is in place by the time they turn 18 as their dream would be to work a ski season in Europe. They’ve even started researching what qualifications are required by each country to be an instructor as that would be their ideal.

My dd was considering this last year after a ski trip and considered doing Uni in Germany...I think they are allowed to work for a certain amount of time... I forget now as she soon changed to something else, but might be an idea?

Thanks again- certainly interested in Canada- Vancouver Island looks great and agree will try to suss out lesser known places as well. Am def keeping southern hemisphere as an option too. We might suggest he attempts to get bar work experience in this country.

Interesting. Their German isn’t good enough to study there I don’t think although they’ve got some. I know you can learn in English at Dutch universities though. I will suggest they look into the various options! We’re a way off yet and they ARE doing German GCSE (not very well…)

My eldest is currently working for ski area in Queenstown. It's an easy place to find work, challenging to find accomodation. But he's landed on his feet, now in his second house after the first one was sold for a new hotel to be built. He's a year in and planning a year or so more before going to Canada. One of my others did a summer season there too.
NZ has many advantages - not least brilliant reciprocal health care. It's a laid back, safe place for a young adult. Employers seem pretty good as well, certainly more supportive than the UK. They get free lift passes. He's earned enough that he pays all his bills, including a lot of beer, and has been able to buy new board and boots, new mountain bike, book a month off to go cycle touring, and still be saving to the jump to Canada and a trip to Australia.
A top tip: many look to get jobs as a liftie or on the mountain restaurant etc. But that means when the slopes are open, you are working. My lad drives the small snow plough and directs traffic - they start early (often 7am) but he gets paid an hour extra as he picks up the others in the company truck. They finish 2 hrs before the slopes close - so he gets 2hrs daily of free slope time.... While the lifties are still at work.

Yes dd's German is also limited, so she was looking at English courses - I think Berlin and Munich were the two off the top of my head. Might be worth a look as some of the subjects rank quite highly and the perks Uni being completely free and added to that being able to work might swing it!

Oh, and +1 on don't bother with Europe it's tough to get any visa. But NZ and and Canada will give them a 3 year working visa at that age, no questions asked at all...

This sounds fabulous although my heart breaks a little at how far away they’d be! (Good excuse to visit of course.)

@jeansgenie thank you, that’s really interesting. Munich would be ideal for access to good skiing too.

Or Japan? A few young people we know did that last year (age 19). They had an amazing time working in a bar/ restaurant.

Regarding the process of getting a visa and hopefully getting work:

For Canada, the first part of the process is to apply for, and get, the Visa. This used to be done through BUNAC, but I believe that it is now handled by a different Agency on behalf of the Canadian government (see the link in a previous post above). Once the person has the WHV, they are free to seek work with any employer. Resorts like Whistler need thousands of seasonal workers - so many that they used to hold recruitment fairs in London and Australia every autumn. Work on a WHV is not limited to one employer, or to just tourism - people are free to seek work anywhere in Canada doing any job for which they're qualified or willing to do, and WHVs are for 1-2 years, not just for a season. The biggest headache in the large resorts like Whistler is to actually find affordable accommodation. A job with the mountain company (which runs the lifts, ski schools, mountain restaurants, some shops) usually comes with staff accommodation in hostel/bunkhouse style rooms.

For Europe, the process is different.
Firstly, the European employer has to apply to the local Employment Office for permission to recruit for a specific post (e.g. for a Chef) and show that there are no suitable candidates available from within the EU. If the application to employ a "third-country foreigner" is approved, the British candidate then has to apply for the job (the employer and candidate will have agreed this in advance), and for the Visa from the relevent embassy in the UK. If everything is approved, the applicant receives a time-limited Visa that is restricted to just that one job and only for that employer. Some British travel companies have been successful in gaining Visas for their senior personnel, e.g. experienced resort managers.

Thanks Outdooryone
that's a really exciting post- your son sounds like he has an amazing lifestyle. Really good tips on what work to do- I had wondered if jobs might interfere significantly with snow time. Definitely will look into Queenstown/NZ in general. I like the idea that it's relaxed there- not too pressured- can imagine my son in that environment.

Thanks Wolbutter
had not considered Japan but seems as though many of the resorts are run by Aussies. So thinking maybe speaking Japanese not crucial 😀

Thanks again Havanananana
Very helpful info. Right so it's visa before everything and looks like accommodation is often a difficulty- pp stated this true in NZ, too- unless comes with the job.
It's clear that Europe's a non-starter for my son unless it's just a holiday. Crazy that they can't do it closer to home but what an adventure anyway- feel excited for him :)

I did a ski season in Whistler many (many) years ago as a beginner and it was honestly the best year of my life. Not sure if this is still the case, but if you worked for the resort you got a free mountain pass so plenty of opportunity to learn or practise skills on your days off. I did it through BUNAC, which is still running. The big ski resorts actively recruit for seasonal labour through its Work Canada programme.

https://bunac.org/work-canada

The odds of him getting a visa for Canada in time to work this season are very low. He really needed to be applying in January I think. And lots of the lifty positions will also be full by now or mid September and you can’t apply without the visa.

He might be better just working flat out in the UK to earn cash and then taking a long holiday. Then apply for visa in his final year of university and have a post university gap year or two.

Various companies do multi week camps where you can take instructor exams - not cheap but include accommodation etc and a group of other young people. He might be able to afford one of those in the spring with his savings plus working now.

I worked at Lake Louise in Canada it was fab. Because i was at a restaurant over the mountain I would be allowed on the lifts 30mins before the public and ski on my own over the mountain. If I was on a opening up shift we had to go up on the back of a truck but would then finish early and get to ski everyday after the lunch clear up plus a free meal . This was 30yrs ago now so things may have changed..
But why isn’t your DS doing this research? He’s old enough to be going he should be doing the finding out?

I knew a few people ar uni who did BUNAC in their gap years and when I was travelling in the US after graduating I went up to Whistler to meet up with some Australians I met in a youth hostel on their way up from landing in Los Angeles to start work there for the winter. It looked like a great place to spend time (again, 30 years ago!).

Reading all this makes me want a pre retirement year off. I have serious FOMO! I can cook, ski well, speak French, have helped a lot of people off the hills and to the Dr over 50 years…. Yes I’m mid 50s, but I have an EU passport. Perhaps I should go for it. #ChaletGirlAt50 ⛷️🎿⛷️

I worked (and lived) on the Zugspitze - but this was back in the 90s - I got my green card and applied as soon as they were hiring ( already working in the Dorint at that point).

Try individual resorts?

I did some ski seasons for first choice ski (late 99”s/ early 00’s. )

You could be hotel staff (wait or/ kitchen/rooms) or childcare/school trip staff.

I had a great time in France - learnt to snowboard - and we could buy equipment cheap in reality or rent cheap and got given lift pass as part of employment deal.

I spent millennium new year on an ice rink in Alpe h”Huez!

@RaisedVegBeds "Various companies do multi week camps where you can take instructor exams - not cheap but include accommodation etc and a group of other young people. He might be able to afford one of those in the spring with his savings plus working now."

The OP's son faces two challenges with this route.

Firstly, even with an instructor certificate (which will only be a first-level certificate) he will still need a work visa to work in Europe, and a level one certificate won't be a high enough qualification to get a sponsored visa. He could take his instructor certificate in Canada and use his time there to get a higher level while working at a different job through his WHV.

Secondly, the son is a snowboarder - and the demand for snowboard instructors is far less than that for ski instructors. Most schools around where I live only accept ski instructors or dual (ski and board) instructors as there is not enough work for someone who is purely a snowboard instructor.