Ski & Snowboard Instructor Courses in Austria

Austria is home to Ski Instructor Academy and it's where the majority of our core courses take place. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier and its neighboring resort, Kaprun, make the perfect location for instructor training: pistes up to 3,000m, ideal terrain, long seasons, and one of Austria's largest ski areas right on the doorstep.

We offer three levels of instructor qualification in Austria: the Anwärter, covering Levels 1 and 2, is your entry point into the Austrian instructor system; Landes 1 takes you into Level 3 Part 1; and Landes 2 completes Level 3.

Kaprun is where our core training team resides, making this the place to train and develop your skills, whatever level you're aspiring to!

Instructor courses in Austria

How the courses work in Austria

SIA works with the WSSV – the Vienna Ski and Snowboard Association – who run the final assessments for all our Austrian instructor qualifications. Your on-snow training is delivered by our team of highly qualified trainers, employed by our sister skischool Snowsports Kaprun.

The Anwärter is the entry point – Level 1 and 2 of the Austrian instructor system and the most popular course SIA runs. Landes 1 and Landes 2 take you through Level 3 Part 1 and Part 2.

On qualifying courses, the Job Guarantee means you finish training and go straight into a paid position with one of our partner ski schools across Austria.

How job placements work in Austria

Before the course starts, we hold an online meeting with you to understand what you are looking for – the type of resort, the ski school environment, the kind of season you want. From there we start reaching out to our partner ski schools in Austria on your behalf.

The final decision on who to hire always rests with the ski school, but they trust our training and our candidates – and when they are happy with a match, we make the introduction by email and let you take it from there. If everything goes to plan on the course, you travel directly to your resort of work on the same day you finish training with us.

We stay in touch with the ski schools through the season and drop in when we can.

UK passport holders
We also support non-EU students from the UK with their work permit applications. We work alongside ski schools, who are willing to sponsor candidates for work permits, giving you access to a season in Austria that most UK nationals haven’t been able to get since Brexit.

There is a little more admin involved, and occasionally a trip back to the UK to complete the visa appointment, but the process has worked well in recent years and we are happy to guide you through it. Contact us before booking if you hold a UK passport and want to discuss your options.

Job placements in Austria

On completion of qualifying courses, SIA places instructors across a range of Austrian resorts. Specific placement depends on availability and your qualification level – the team will talk you through your options before the season starts.

We currently partner with skischool in these areas:

  • St Anton
  • Kitzbühel
  • Sölden
  • Ischgl
  • Saalbach Hinterglemm
  • Zell am See
  • Kaprun
  • Alpbach
  • Badkleinkirchheim
  • Wurzeralm