Ski + snowboard instructor jobs in the UK

Teaching in the UK offers a totally different lifestyle. You could be working as a ski instructor while enjoying a ‘normal’ UK life at the same time. From traditional mountain resorts in the Scottish Highlands, to modern indoor snow centres and dry slopes, the UK offers superb opportunities for instructors. With year-round slopes, a booming freestyle scene and plenty of punters, here’s what you need to know.

Fast Facts

• The UK has over 60 ski slopes, with 5 ski resorts, 6 indoor snow centres and the rest dry slopes.
• You can teach all year round across indoor centres and dry slopes
• Chill Factore in Manchester is longest indoor real snow slope in the UK at 180 metres.

Resorts

Over 60 ski slopes sprawl across the UK. Traditional mountain resorts can be found in Scotland, of which there are five offering between 18 and 40 km of slopes. They might be on the level of the Rockies or the Alps, but the ski areas offer varied terrain, bracing scenery, and sometimes great snow too.

Most of the UK’s ski options come in the form of indoor snow centres and dry slopes. There are six real snow venues across the country, alongside over 50 dry slopes and ski clubs, featuring beginner slopes, mogul areas and progressive park features.

Season: Ski resorts of Scotland operate during the winter months and can be open from December until as late as May. Visitor numbers vary, with most appearing on weekends, school holidays and after a snow storm to hit the fresh pow. Indoor centres and dry slopes operate all year round, with the busiest times during evenings, weekends and holiday periods. This predictability of customers creates great opportunities to gain experience working as a snowsports instructor in a small controlled environment.

Recruitment period: Recruitment for the Scottish ski season usually starts during the summer months. For artificial slopes, it is common for popular ones to carry out a recruitment process in the late summer months to increase their staff numbers for the busy winter period when everyone is thinking about blowing off the cobwebs before their next ski holiday. Snow schools will normally have a core group of ski and snowboard instructors with more employed on a part-time basis to cover the busy periods and weekends.

Popular slopes:

• Glenshee, Scotland
• Glencoe, Scotland
• Chill Factore, Manchester
• The Snow Centre, Hemel Hampstead
• Cardiff Ski and Snowboard Centre, Cardiff
• Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre, Gloucester

How to work here

To work as an instructor in the UK, you need:

• Minimum of BASI Level 1 or equivalent (e. g. CSIA/CASI) to teach at indoor centres and dry slopes
• Minimum of BASI Level 2 (or CSIA/CASI Level 1) to teach in an outdoor mountain environment
• Valid UK work permit for non-EEA nationals

Pay + perks

Pay varies from resort to resort and depends on qualifications and experience, but as a rough guide this is what to expect:

• Rookie instructors – £8-10/hour
• Experienced instructors – £15/hour

Teaching hours will vary but may be combined with other duties and operations. Indoor slopes also offer evening lessons creating more opportunities to increase your hours. Quiet days could see you only teaching for few hours, with busy days up to 8 hours.

Did you know: There are plenty of opportunities for part-time work during weekends and holiday seasons – great for gaining experience, fitting around university commitments or keeping your hand in alongside your normal job.

NOT QUALIFIED?

If you're not yet qualified and fancy yourself working as an instructor, check out our ski instructor courses / snowboard instructor courses to see how we'll get you there.