Ski Instructor Academy are proud to bring you the Whistler Blackcomb Snow School University (WBSSU) Internship Program.
SIA offers instructor courses around the World and together with our training partners in Whistler and the Whistler Blackcomb Snow School. If you are looking for ski training in Whistler, look no further than this amazing 24 week internship training programme, aimed at those students looking to work as a snowsports instructor in the World’s Best Ski Resort. This course includes four weeks instructor training and certification followed by approx. 20 weeks employment in Whistler Ski School.
You will train towards the CSIA or CASI Level 1 certification in the first four weeks of your arrival in Whistler and after successful completion of the exam, you will begin to live the dream of becoming a fully fledged Whistler Blackcomb Ski Instructor for the entire season!
On your days off you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings, be it on the mountain or in the world class resort of Whistler Blackcomb. You can also enjoy the fantastic night life and extra activities such as snowmobile tours, dog sledding, zip lining, heli or cat skiing, ice hockey games and wildlife tours to name a few.
Candidates must have previous experience working with children or adults in a coaching or teaching environment.
Spaces are very limited for this program and each participant must complete an interview process in order to be accepted into the WBSSU Internship and access our top quality ski lessons at Whistler. So, don’t hesitate! Get in touch with SIA Austria today.
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Whats Included
We pride ourselves on the fact that Ski Instructor Academy offers the very best value, fully comprehensive and quality filled programmes on the market.
The possibility of employment with the WB Snow School can only exist if the candidate has successfully completed the 4 week training program, passed the Level I CSIA / CASI course and completed the children’s module workshop.
In order to be eligible for employment considerations after the completion of the program at the WB Snow School individuals must have a valid work permit to work in Canada. Please refer to our Visa Guide for more details on the work permit you should apply for. It is very important that you apply for the IEC working holiday visa.
If applicable, all successful candidates looking for employment opportunities will undergo a pre-course interview process for instructor positions with the WB Snow School.
Requirements
The competition is fierce so you need to make sure you meet all the requirements set by Whistler Blackcomb.
- It would be beneficial for Students to have previous experience working with children or adults in a coaching or teaching environment
- Student must be at an intermediate level — able to link turns on blue runs
Step 1 – Complete your online booking form and pay your course deposit. This secures your place amongst other hopeful internship candidates. This secures your place amongst other hopeful internship candidates. This does not guarantee your place on the internship yet, but rather the deposit secures you in our pool of candidates that will go for final interviews.
We will review your details to make sure you meet all the requirements and we can get a feel for your goals for the season.
Step 2 – Apply for your working holiday visa for Canada through IEC — if you already have an approved working visa you’re in a great position!
Step 3 – The official interview with Whistler Blackcomb will be held in July/August — actual date TBA. The interview will be a Skype interview.
Step 4 – If successful you will receive an official acceptance email inviting you to join the WBSSU program. Those unsuccessful will be offered alternative options for the winter.
Step 5 – Winter begins!
Accomodation
You will be fully embedded into the Whistler Blackcomb lifestyle. Accommodation for the program is offered by Whistler Blackcomb at WB HOUSE in shared rooms. The first 4 weeks are covered under the cost of the program. If you receive a formal job offer then you can transfer to WB staff housing and the rental cost will be deducted from your wages each month by WB. It is probably the most affordable accommodation in Whistler.
This course is run with our Training Partners at YES! and Whistler Blackcomb Snow School.
The coaches and examiners are second to none, offering the best advice and guidance (special shout outs to Jamie, Anne and Martin!) And to top it all off, I am now a Landes 1 Lehrer! If you are looking to be a ski instructor, choose SIA!
In my opinion SIA is your only choice to become a ski instructor. For me, it was difficult to chose between all the different schools but I have never regretted the decision to choose SIA. The course was very well planned, organised and worth every dollar I paid for it.
Minus the time I fought and defeated the Amazonian gorilla king this is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done!”
Absolutely life changing! When I first arrived I was quite unsure of what to expect, coming from a small town in the UK and feeling really nervous. The course exceeded anything I could of ever dreamed of; meeting what are now my best friends and spending 3 months living the ski dream!
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EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
Our training team consists of some of the worlds highly qualified and experienced coaches. They will become your mentor, adviser and friend.
LIFE CHANGING
We guarantee you will have the greatest time on your course and take away life changing skills, memories and friends that will stay with you forever.
INTENSE TUITION
Your course will be packed full of training from start to finish with 20 hours practical tuition per week on snow plus theory and additional tuition throughout your course.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Our course offer the very best value, fully comprehensive and quality filled programmes on the market. We pride ourselves on the fact that like-for-like we can not be beaten.
FAQs
You will earn your Canadian L1 Instructor Licence, this is an internationally respected L1 instructor qualification which you can use to teach in many countries around the world in controlled environments.
You must be competent and have enough ski knowledge and time on snow so that you can ski a red piste run in parallel, with a hip width stance, demonstrating outside ski balance and little body rotation. If you don’t think you’re up to this level then you can still join, just get in touch to find out how.
To join the WBSSU Internship programme and to work in Canada you will need either a Canadian Passport or an IEC (International Experience Canada) Visa. Each year there are a limited number of places available to IEC applicants and each country has a different number of permits allocated to them.
The work permits are released around November / December time for people wishing to go to Canada the following year. This may sound like a lot but it’s really not, so apply early and be prepared!
See our Visa Guide for information on how to apply for an IEC.
Yes, the WBBSU course includes Whistler Staff Housing for your training period.
Once you are qualified and working then you will continue to live in staff housing, at a cost of approx. CAD $500 (approx £300 / €350)
Staff housing has various locations in Whistler however the property that you will be living in is called Glacier Staff Housing. It’s located in Blackcomb, ski in ski out! Yep its pretty incredible.
The first months rent (from mid Nov – mid Dec) is covered under your program fees.
The second months rent will be required prior to your arrival. This will help you when budgeting while in resort.
So for those that are joining the Internship program – you should expect that your starting wage with WB will be approx. CAD$13.50 per hour
For those that have completed the Level 2 certitication with us and are hired by the mountain – your starting wage will be approx. CAD$17.00 per hour
The more certifications or education credits you have the higher your wage.
The WBSSU program is run in conjunction and under the supervision of Whistler Blackcomb Snow School. Our resort partners YES! based in Whistler will of course still oversee the program and make sure you are well looked after and your needs are met.
During these strange times we want you to feel safe and secure when it comes to your course fees and your booking.
Our Covid Confident Money Back Guarantee gives you complete peace of mind and flexibility when it comes to your booking with us.
This means that if your course is cancelled by SIA prior to your arrival date, for whatever reason, you can choose one of the following options:
- Switch your instructor course free of charge to a later date or destination
- Receive a full refund of your fees
Our guarantee applies to all travellers whether you have already booked your instructor course, or are considering booking. Meaning, you can book with confidence and look forward to an amazing season with SIA.
Read more about the Covid Confident Money Back Guarantee here…
2021/22 was the first season post-Brexit and added some red tape to what would historically have been a normal season for students from the UK. To work anywhere in the world now, incl. Europe, Brits will need a visa or permit to work. The Authorities here in Austria have said that they plan to have a ‘seasonnaire permit’ in place at some point in the future to allow workers short-term access to the employment market during the winter season.
Whilst this is potentially great news, there has still – 3 years on – been no further news on this ‘seasonaire permit’ and so it will be highly unlikely that anything will be in place anytime soon, which does still leaves uncertainty on what will be required from UK nationals working in Austria in the future.
As of yet there is still no further news or update on the Austrian ‘seasonnaire permit’ or any other pathway to enable Brits to work in Austria or any other EU country via any independently accessible work visa or any alternative method. (latest update: 1st February 2023)
You must be a minimum of 16 years old before you arrive into resort on our Austrian Courses.
You must be a minimum of 18 years old before you arrive in resort for our Canadian or Argentinian Courses (unless parental consent is obtained).
You must be a minimum of 18 years old to join any of our courses or internships which rely on a working holiday visa or work permit.
Although SIA courses are amongst the largest in the World, we generally manage to maintain very intimate training groups of between 4:1 and 8:1, but with absolutely no more than 10:1 students per trainer in Austria, Argentina, Canada, France and NZ. This allows us to match similar ability levels per group and means no student should ever feel as if they are falling behind, or being held back because of the group they are in.
We have various options for accommodation on our courses, all of which are very comfortable. We use a combination of shared apartments, houses and chalets. There are options to to include a single room, half board meals or both! (subject to availability and supplement). See our Accommodation page for more details on your options.
YES! As an employed instructor, ski schools will offer you subsidised staff housing as part of your employment contract. This is generally basic living, but a fun and very social environment with your fellow instructors and not to mention a very cheap way of living in a ski resort, with most ski schools only charging between €4 and €10 per day.
Note: If your course does not include a Job Guarantee or you do not wish to take up your position then accommodation will only be included during your course dates.
Sure! We love it when friends come together and share this amazing experience – after all sharing is caring! We can make sure you live together and also work in the same ski school together too so you can enjoy the time and make memories forever… just be sure to let us know who you’re travelling with.
We are so confident that we offer the very best value courses in the industry that we have our SIA Price Promise. We pride ourselves that we offer more training, higher quality coaching, better off-hill programs and more fun aprés events than any other course.
That’s why if you find a better value comparable course anywhere, not only will we match the course cost, but we will also give you an additional €100 off your course fees for good measure!
Get in touch to find out more about our Price Promise.
Yes! Once you have booked and paid your deposit then you will have the ability to pay off your course how you see fit as long as our minimum criteria has been met (see T&C’s). You can decide how much and how often you pay to suit your circumstances as long as your course fees are paid in full prior to your course. We do not add any interest charges for payment plans.
As much as we love dogs at SIA the simple answer is no.
Dogs are not allowed within SIA Accommodation. Ski Schools also ban pets from their accommodation.
No problem, you can check out our full FAQ’s here for answers on equipment, training, qualifications, jobs, payments and more.
If you’re still not sure, then Contact Us and we can answer your specific questions for you.