Choosing the right ski instructor course

In our article about choosing a ski or snowboard instructor qualification, we already discussed the types of courses available, but in this article we are going to let you know what you should be looking for from the actual course itself. We will cover everything from what you will be given to eat during your stay, to the percentage of participants who are expected to successfully complete the course.

Once you have decided on the qualification you wish to obtain (refresh your memory on why this is important here) you can start looking at the available options. On a near daily basis we read and talk about the many providers of these training and teaching qualifications, and while at first glance the main difference is the duration of the experience, in reality there are many more factors involved, all of which you should think about before signing up and parting with your cash.

What is the Instructor Quality like?

If two instructors each hold CSIA Level 4 you may expect the experience of being taught by either of them to be pretty much the same. In a way it should be, but in reality their ability to teach could vary significantly. Someone's teaching skills are not the easiest thing to quantify and as such the marketing literature can only give you the obvious, such as their professional qualifications, and perhaps the number of years they have been teaching. When you consider that companies are unlikely to risk their reputation by keeping instructors who are not competent at what they do, it probably isn't something to worry about, but trying to find testimonials from other people who have been in your position before you will go some way to answering this question.

What are the teaching ratios?

This is as important as the previous point. Even the best teacher in the world is going to struggle to give as good an experience to a large class as an average teacher would to a small class. There is no magic number, but if your instructor is coping with more than ten of you then you may not get the level of coaching you need. Most companies will also offer some direct one on one training during your tuition time, obviously the more of this the better as it then becomes more relevant to you and your technique. Picture a big tick if you see 1:1 anywhere in the course details!

Where will you be learning?

While not quite as vital as the other points, after all, snow is snow, it is still something to think about. Are you going to be on a small piste with very little competition for chair lifts and slope space, or are you going to be in a busy resort with lots of amenities and apre ski? It is for you to decide what suits you best, but make sure you factor it in to your decision.

How are your lessons structured?

Whether the course provider decides to base you in a classroom for part of the day learning theory, or send you off to shadow other instructors in action for an afternoon, is not really anything we can draw any conclusions from. They will all have different ways of getting you through your time with them and out the other side as a well rounded instructor. What is important though is how they structure your overall experience. You may think it is more important to spend the maximum number of hours with your feet locked inside ski boots, and poles in your hands, actually improving your own prowess, or you may prefer to spend as much time as possible hearing how already qualified instructors go about teaching other people to ski.

There is no right or wrong, but think about whether they do any video analysis of your technique, about whether they show you other useful skills like first aid and general mountain safety, and whether there is any opportunity to get some real practice of teaching other people to ski. Don't forget that although you will almost certainly become a better skier by the end of your time in resort, your actual goal is to become a better teacher.

How much time is actually spent teaching?

One thing that jumps out to most people, and something we get asked about quite frequently, is why some courses last for as little as four weeks, while others go on for ten or more. Generally this will be due to the amount of ground covered, so a four week course may train you to the first instructor level without the actual exam, but the ten week could include levels one and two, complete with exams. But beyond these obvious differences, you should also look at how the time is structured as it is quite possible to do almost exactly the same course in a six week period, or in an eleven week period. Will the eleven week course give you more teaching time, more skiing time, and make you a better instructor at the end of it? The obvious answer is yes, but take a look at exactly what you will be doing during your stay to see whether the course content suits you.

What will your food and shelter be like?

These are easy ones to miss as they aren't quite as closely connected to your teaching experience. You may decide that living in a breeze block hut and eating McNuggets ® is all part of the experience (we are actually pretty sure that none of the course we know offer this!) but if you don't enjoy the place you are staying in and you are always hungry, it is bound to affect your enjoyment of the daytime training too.

What is their success rate?

Boasting that 100% of students complete the course each year is an immediate good news story, but does complete mean they qualified as professional ski instructors, or does it mean they didn't get bored and go home at the end of the first week? If a company has a genuinely high pass rate, with the vast majority of students becoming level one or two instructors, then that is something they cannot fake. They may also be willing to share what percentage of their students go on to find work. It is worth asking about whether they have links with ski schools as some clearly do, so if you are a bit of a talent, you are much more likely to get recommended. In such a competitive market, giving yourself this advantage is a bit of no brainer!

Any free kit or discounts on clothing?

Not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but some companies have good links with clothing manufacturers, and you may find you get some nice clothing thrown in as part of the course. This may cost them very little, but may save you a bundle. Certainly worth knowing about when you come to decide which course to pick.

We hope you find some of these tips useful. Course providers websites are among the best we deal with. Marketing is a big part of how they make their money, so they have to be on the ball and answer most of the obvious questions before you ask them. If there is something you would like to know then please do give them a call. We can say, without hesitation, of all the people we deal with, ski course providers are about the most friendly and approachable. A good company who wants you to go on their course will happily answer with confidence, any question you would like to pose. Remember that you are spending a not insignificant amount of money to further your career, so make sure you spend it wisely and with confidence.