What ski insructor qualifications to pursue???CSIA,BASI,PSIA,NZSIA??

Polarbear2020

OK I want to become a ski instructor, preferably by doing one of the 10/11week Instructor course programs offered by many companies on the net. Only thing is I dont know which country to do it in or what association to take my exams with etc (eg.CSIA,BASI,PSIA,NZSIA). I also would like to base myself in Italy eventually, so any advice on which association I should qualify with? What will work best on my C.V if I want a job as a ski instructor in Italy???

robinph

There is also IASI (Irish Association of Snowsports Instructors) as well, not to be confused with the ISIA (International Ski Intructors Association). They run courses on the dryslope at Kilternan a couple of times a year for the level 1 qualification and I think they are mostly equivalent to the BASI levels.

I'm not sure what national qualification would be best for getting work in Italy though, but I did find this blog post that gives examples of how the different levels from each association relates to the others.

Polarbear2020

Thanks a mil for the link!! It was perfect, as the element that confused me about all the different associations qualifications was what their equivilants was in other associations!

I did look at the IASI but the only reason I dont want to qualify through them is basically time wise the exams seems a little more spread out and fragmented, rather than just doing my level1&2 in one 10/11 week spurt through a company specialising in these specific courses. However I might be wrong maybe IASI do do something similar??

The Italy thing still seems a mystery,and any sites or leads I have found are in Italian and its a language I dont speak(yet!). It seems similar to France but to a lesser extent, in the way that without Associazione Italiana Maestri di Sci(AMSI) qualifications it may be relatively harder to get employed as a ski insructor out there. And I dont think there are any form of training programs similar to those offered in CSIA,BASI etc (10/11week instructor courses,"gap" courses etc) in which AMSI qualifications are rewarded at the end of it, certaintly not through english anyway. However I may be wrong...If anyone can shed any light on this please do???

jimdev

Outside of Europe, it is easy to get recognition between countries. A Level 1 from somewhere in North America would generally be recognised down under and visa-versa, a level 2 would generally improve you job prospects or options (although not nearly as much as experience would).

In some countries in Europe, the entry level is much higher and is closer to level 3 in US/CAN/NZ/AUS and so you would need a level 3 (or in some cases even a level 4) from say maybe Canada to work in say France. There is no way unless you grew up skiing every weekend of every winter or did some serious ski racing that you would be able to attain that sort of level without doing several seasons.

I am not totally sure about this (and finding someone who knows for sure always seems to be hard). I think the best way to about it is to go to one of US/CAN/NZ/AUS or BASI in Europe and do one of these gap courses for level 1 and 2 and then spend a season teaching somewhere like north america and try to get your level 3 (ski schools provide free in house training towards these qualifications, in some cases on a daily basis and teaching is excellent preparation for many aspects of the exam).

Some european countries are seriously tough to get teaching in, I think Italy is one of these. They are mostly part of this eurogroup band of countries who all recognise each others top qualifications, BASI and IASI (Ireland) are part of this.

I strongly suspect you will need to pass a Eurotest to work in Italy permanently. This is a racing test which is timed, you have to get within 12% of some hotshot's time who goes down the course first while it is still clean.

Often, there is a back door for teaching temporarily while you work towards these qualifications.

Having said all that, I have a friend who just came back from teaching secondary school students snowboarding in Switzerland (which being neutral is not part of the Euurogroup) where apparently he was something of the big man on the block with his CASI (Canada) Level 1, most of them being totally unqualified.


My advice would be to google for one of these BASI gap courses in France and then email the course director to ask exactly what you need to do.

It's not impossible, it just might mean teaching for 2-3 seasons in North America /NZ/AUS/ Switzerland to get up to the level to do this.

Polarbear2020

Thank you, thank you and thank you!
Fantastic blog.
You have answered all the questions that I just couldnt find the answer to via a search engine (as of course no website is going to mention the countries that dont acknowledge their qualifications). I really do appreciate it.
Is there any country`s qualifications that you think I should steer clear of (eg. I came across a blog that suggested maybe CSIA qualifications are slightly easier to pass than others-are they seen as inferior??) and any you recomend would be best to obtain.
Although I adore skiing I have absolutely no inside knowledge of the industry itself so have no idea about which qualifications are highly looked upon and vice versa...I just dont want to pick the wrong path to pursue and regret it half way in!

jimdev

There isn't a "wrong path" to follow. All of Canada/US/NZ and anywhere in Europe offer really high class systems of instructing. There are differences between them but which system you came through will have a lot less effect on your ability as an instructor than your natural ability to explain new ideas and how good a skier you are. They all take the same ideas aand frame them slightly differently.

I may have been the person who said CSIA might be slightly easier, but that could have been because I did so much skiing (almost a whole season) between failing the NZ Stage 1 (Level 2 equivalent) and passing the CSIA Level 2 that my perspective could have completely changed.

I wouldn't know enough about the politics of italian ski instruction to say if they have any preference for say BASI over CSIA. I certainly know that with your CSIA 1 and 2 you would have little trouble swapping to BASI for the next level (you would need to learn slightly different mantra/dogma to spew back at the examiners but that's about it). This also works the other way around.

Also, if you are getting ski boots and are thinking of doing one of these courses, get them when you go out to start the course, the trainers will hook you up with some local boot fitter that they know (and possibly use themselves) and may have a deal as well, I have seen this before. If you aren't going to do the gap year course for another season then don't bother holding out.

Polarbear2020

I honestly cant thank you enough. I think I was worrying a bit too much about the details of it all. Now I just need to concentrate on getting college over and done with, so I can finally go do the career I really want to do. Be a ski instructor...and hopefully a damn good one at that!!!
Im absolutely ITCHING to get out and start spreading my love of skiing:D...that is after I qualify(fingers crossed)
Your complete and comprehensive response to my ski boot thread was much appreciated aswell. I couldnt have asked for more!!
Cheers

Andy 08

I did a GAP course with BASI in Switzerland 2 years ago and have the BASI level 2 instructor qualification. This qualifies you to teach in Switzerland, Canada, US, NZ but not most of Europe. To teach in France etc you need BASI level 4.

Italy is a bit of an odd one- you need the ISIA level teach qualification (which equates to BASI level 3), but you CAN teach with level 2 qualifications (thay you get if you pass your 10 week GAP course) with http://www.interski.co.uk. They have an additional race test you need to pass though!

All of the qualifications are benchmarked through the ISIA and fairly interchangeable.

One thing I would say is that being a good skier is the bottom of the list when it comes to getting a job- personality, reliability and the ability to speak multiple languages are the key to doing well as a ski instructor.

~Rebel~

Hey folks, on this topic, im currently looking at starting down the road of qualification. I've researched the BASI websites options, but its quite DIY, i.e, doing the 5 day course for level 1, then doing child protection and first aid courses, getting 35hours of work experience on a dry slope and submitting all this info to actually get a level 1 license, then can move onto getting stage 2. Another option is to do an 8 week course in New Zealand, but getting there is pretty pricey obviously. This will give me an NZSIA level 1 which they say is 'equivalent to/slightly better then' a BASI 2, which would be ideal.

Another course i've found with Ski Academy Switzerland in September is 3000pounds and gives an ASSI qualification. Where exactly does this fit in?! I've been looking to find an equivalent and it seems to stand for "Artificial Slope Ski Instructor" so does this mean BASI 1, or is there a difference? Such a confusing area! as a solid block i have the second half of June, all of July and the first half of August free so would like to try and get to the equivilent of a BASI 2 or thereabouts in this time.

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks!
-Paul

robinph

Could be wrong, but I doubt that a qualification obtained in Switzerland has anything to do with artificial slopes considering their plentiful supply of high mountains with the chance of year round skiing on glaciers.

~Rebel~

robinph wrote: »

Could be wrong, but I doubt that a qualification obtained in Switzerland has anything to do with artificial slopes considering their plentiful supply of high mountains with the chance of year round skiing on glaciers.

Im only basing this on googling ASSI and finding

The Artificial Slope Ski Instructor (ASSI) training programme is designed to train and qualify responsible skiers who are primarily interested in instructing alpine skiing on artificial skiing surfaces. The primary role of the ASSI is to introduce novice skiers to the sport of skiing in safety, with enjoyment and to do so in such a way as to prepare them for further learning.

http://www.snsc.demon.co.uk/courses/assi.htm


I'm not sure that the course would necessarily need to be carried out on dry slopes, more that it probably only allows you to teach on dry slopes (as in a safe environment where you cant lead small children off a cliff or into an avalanche.)

Polarbear2020

Hi Rebel! I posted the original thread, and since have done loads and loads more research. Check out this link its gives all different courses in different countries with different associations.
http://www.natives.co.uk/instructor/index.htm

However if your looking to get BASI level 1&2 qualifications in one of the compact course's, have a look at this site I recommend it. It's the official BASI instructor school-http://www.skinewgen.com/instructor/index.asp. They only have dates for winter advertised on the site I think but they are running one in New Zealand over the summer too I'm pretty sure, if you send them an email they are really helpful so I'm sure they'll let you know all the details. I'm probably going to go with this group, although it is pricyer than others I like the follow up service's etc(they work with you towards level 3 in following years etc if you want).

Also make sure you defo have a look at this, http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=69775
its PACKED with info and advice on the general topic of ski instructor qualifications, what to take, which works/doesn't work where etc and there is even a link in there somewhere I think which gives you a fairly good comparison of all the levels in all different associations!

Happy hunting my friend:D

~Rebel~

Thanks for the advice man! the 'Ski academy switzerland' got back to me on my questions anyway and made things much clearer. The guy made a typo in his first email, instead of ASSI being the qualification its AASI which stands for American Association of Snowboard Instructors. I think ill probably go with their course as its the best all round one that suits me at the moment. I need to get it kind of done before mid september as im the best man at my brothers wedding so need to be free! This one is a 4 week course in August, its a steep enough cost, 3000pounds but at the same time it does include accomodation and half board meals which isn't bad. I asked him specifically what level this course will leave me at and he said between BASI 1 and 2. Said it will leave me definately able to get an instructors job on a ski resort, which BASI 1 won't, so that suits me nicely. All i need is something to get the foot in the door really so hopefully this is it sorted! He said i can also go and do the BASI 2 after if i wish without needing to do BASI 1.

Polarbear2020

I wish you best of luck luck with it all...I'm soooooo jealous your doing it all over the summer. I've college to get out of the way before I venture off on my travels. Please do let me know how you get on

Hannah.

~Rebel~

Polarbear2020 wrote: »

I wish you best of luck luck with it all...I'm soooooo jealous your doing it all over the summer. I've college to get out of the way before I venture off on my travels. Please do let me know how you get on

Hannah.

oops, was obviously wide of the mark with my 'man' comment! Will keep ya updated when i go off for the course anyway! Roll on August!

Polarbear2020

Ha yeah I noticed, no worries.

CSIA Nick

I am a CSIA Examiner, and i have an Irish friend who has a Ski Instructor Gap programme, offering training for CSIA qualifications, his company website is www.proskitraining.com check it out