Ski Instructor Academy are excited to bring you the Banff Ski and Snowboard Internship at Lake Louise.
SIA offers instructor courses around the World and together with our training partners in Banff and Lake Louise. If you are looking for a ski season in Canada, look no further than this amazing 22 week internship training program, aimed at those students looking to work as a snowsports instructor in Canada’s Best Ski Resort. Our 22wk Internship differs to most in Canada, in that we offer dedicated level 2 coaching (on top of the continually staff training you will receive as an instructor) and the the option to include your full seasons accommodation in your course fees. This means through our internship you have the option to stay in high standard, incredibly sought after seasonaire accommodation and with no rent to pay all winter!
The standard price you see advertised includes accommodation for your initial level 1 training and exam period, after this you have the freedom to find your own accommodation either on your own or by working together with your new interns to find a local Banff house share. If however you prefer the idea of having secure (and pretty plush if we may say so ourselves) accommodation prearranged and included for the season then through the booking process you have the option to add on our full season accommodation package (+€4,800k for 17 weeks ( €282pw)). If you are unsure which path you want to take you can choose to upgrade to the full season accommodation package at a later date should you need some time to think it over, but be aware that the deadline to upgrade is the 1st October.
You will train towards the CSIA or CASI Level 1 certification in the first four weeks of your arrival in Banff and after successful completion of the exam, you will begin to live the dream of becoming a fully fledged Lake Louise Snow Sports Instructor for the entire winter season!
On your days off you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings, be it on the mountain or in the 3 world class resorts which make up Banff; Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Mt Norquay. 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.
Spaces are extremely limited for this program and each participant must complete an interview process in order to be accepted into the Banff Internship and access our top quality ski and snowboard coaching at Lake Louise. 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 Lake Louise Snow School can only exist if the candidate has successfully completed the initial 4 week training program, passed the Level 1 CSIA / CASI course and completed the children’s module workshop.
If applicable, all successful candidates looking for employment opportunities will undergo a pre-course interview process for instructor positions with the Snow School (interviews usually take place in August via telephone or video link).
In order to be eligible for employment considerations after the completion of the program at the Lake Louise 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.
Requirements
The competition is fierce so you need to make sure you meet all the requirements set by Lake Louise Ski School.
- It would be beneficial (but not essential) for Students to have previous experience working with children or adults in a coaching or teaching environment.
- (As competition is fierce for places having work experience in this area can be the difference between you being offered a place or someone else instead).
- Student must be at an intermediate level — able to link turns on red runs
Step 1 – Complete your online booking form and pay your course deposit. 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 Lake Louise will usually be held in late July/ early August — actual date TBA. The interview will be via teams / Zoom.
Step 4 – If successful you will receive an official acceptance email inviting you to join the Banff Internship program.
Step 5 – Winter begins!
Accomodation
Unlike most internships, our Banff Internship gives you the option to include accommodation for a full 22 weeks!
Internships like this normally require you to move to basic staff housing after the first 3-4 weeks (the standard of which can vary dramatically) or figure it out yourself, adding uncertainty to your living situation and overall winter experience. Whilst including full seasons accommodation does come with an additional cost we see this as a huge benefit and service that others just do not offer.
If you do choose to upgrade to our full seasons accommodation package you will be staying in a modern, clean and comfortable self-catered apartment with your new friends on the program for the duration of the winter. This gives you a fantastic first seasonnaire experience as an instructor (living in comparable luxury to most) – one that you will hopefully go on to replicate for many years!
**Single supplements may be possible, subject to availability – an upgrade charge would apply.
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.
I had the BEST time of my life becoming an instructor with SIA!! Didn’t know how to ski when I got there, had the strongest passion imaginable for skiing six weeks later!!
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!
Minus the time I fought and defeated the Amazonian gorilla king this is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done!”
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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, and the option to take the L2.
CSIA / CASI are internationally respected instructor qualifications which you can use to teach in many countries around the world.
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.
Snowboarders should be able to ride red runs linking turns frontside and backside. This would generally mean approx. 4-6 weeks experience on snow as a guide.
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 Banff Internship program 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, and unlike most internships the Banff Internship includes accommodation for a full 22 weeks not four!
Internships normally require you to pay extra for staff housing, adding thousands to your winter costs. There are no extra accommodation costs on this program as your accommodation is included for the full season.
Best of all? It’s right in the centre of town! You will live completely among all the shops and bars for the ultimate seasonal experience – we are the closest of any other provider in town. You will be staying in a self-catered apartment with the others on the apprenticeship. It gives a great seasonnaire experience as an instructor – one that you will hopefully go on to replicate for many years!
The money question!
The great news is that the minimum wage in Alberta is $15/ hr so that is what you can expect as a minimum. British Columbia ski schools will normally pay approx. $13/hr meaning Banff is THE place to work if earnings are important to you.
Hours depend on how busy the school is but can vary between 20 – 40 hours a week, meaning prospective season earnings of around $6,000.
More information on various wages can be found here – https://www.basecampgroup.com/blog/much-can-ski-instructor-earn/
The more certifications or education credits you have the higher your wage.
The Banff Internship program is run in conjunction and under the supervision of Lake Louise Snow School. Our Basecamp resort team is based in Banff and will 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.