Working as an Instructor in Switzerland

A snowHead

Has anyone here had experience working as a ski or snowboard instructor in Switzerland recently?

btw Please don’t start a long conversation like in other threads.

I’m not looking to do it just to ski more, nor as a gap year, and it won’t be my primary job. Also, And i know i am gonna spend much time teaching absolute beginners or kids. Probably i would hate it, but better to know that i hate it, instead of stay my whole like with the "if??"

The plan is just to do it for some weekends and/or during school holidays while we’re there, whether I’m teaching or not.

For me, it’s more like ticking one more thing off the list of “things to do in your life before you go.”

I’d love to hear some experiences and tips, if there is someone here who already did it or still doing it.

A snowHead

@Chaletbeauroc, @ronald

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It's not that hard to find opportunities to teach beginner classes at peak times. The visa is a pain but not insurmountable.

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@turms2, I can't tell you about Switzerland, although I have some friends there that do work there full time, however, I can tell you about Austria, where I'm currently doing the exact same scenario you're talking about.

I wasn't able to teach our first 2 seasons here due to visa restrictions, now I am able to. I taught everyday from 27th Dec to 31st Dec and also 3rd Jan. I've also taught some weekend days since, and will be off for Fasching the week after next teaching, and whatever else comes up on weekends. I've done around 40 hours so far this season.

Financially it currently doesn't make sense, but I enjoy it a lot and I'm slowly paying back all my exams. My long term goal is to work as an independent instructor anyway, so this all gains me the necessary experience to be the best I can be!

For me, I have a relationship with the school I'm working for as I knew some English instructors there (SaraJ from this forum) so I have a completely ad-hoc contract with them with no guarantee they'll give me any hours and vice versa, I only work when I'm available. It's a win-win for both sides.

Generally I'm teaching kids, and generally they're German, which is the biggest challenge for me, but it's also been a blessing as it's improved my German. I also have a weekend of lessons booked in for March with an English speaker which will be a nice change.
I'm usually only teaching beginners to early intermediates. I'd say this is probably the bulk of the lessons too, although our shop does get some freeride work too, but that's not what I teach currently, it goes to the more experienced full time instructors.

If you know any contacts at schools in Switzerland then it's worth a chat with them, find out what qualifications you would need, maybe the easiest would be a German or Austrian Anwärter as it's only 1 exam, and then in my eyes they can't lose out with you, they only give you work if there's a demand.

No doubt there's some paper work necessary to register you, but the school would know everything needed.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@swskier, Hi, and thanks for your reply.
I’ve already read your story—nice work!

I don’t have any contacts with schools in Switzerland. The idea actually came like a bolt of lightning while I was looking for an instructor for my wife at Easter. Generally, I don’t intend to take another course. I’ve been qualified since 2015. I already have the Level 1 from Germany; for Level 2, I would need to gain teaching experience, including in snowparks. The first part is fine, but snowparks at 51 years old with two kids is a risk I don’t want to take right now.

I also don’t want to teach in Germany, because that would require me to work e.g. in Allgäu during school holidays, which is a no-go for me.

But my certification is not recognized in France or Italy (what a surprise—but I don’t have the language skills there anyway). Even more surprisingly, it’s not recognized in Austria either, although an instructor in Kaprun told me there’s essentially no difference. Even more strangely, my certification from the German Association for Ski Instructors in professional ski schools is not recognized by the German Association for ski clubs.

However, it is recognized 1:1 by BASI and by Swiss Snowsports. This means that with my German certificate, I can teach in Switzerland (ok they are not in EU but within EEA) or in the UK (not EU neither EEA), but I am not allowed to teach in the EU or teach children at the ski club in our village in Germany.

I already done the procedure for the Switzerland, so the qualification is not a problem .

You'll need to Register first of course.

@zikomo, Visa is not a problem i think since i have an EU Citizenship.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

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@zikomo, i will do so. Thank a lot.

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@turms2, Just to confirm, does your EU "Citizenship" give you the right to work in other EU Countries without a Visa? Residency doesn't. If it does then Switzerland is a great option but so is Austria.

With regards to your qualification and recognition, Austria's snowsports fall under a State not Federal remit. As such, the rules differ from Tyrol to say Salzburgland. Salzburgland Ski School Directors make the final decision on competance and will recognise your German level 1 but, normally you'd be restricted to working in a "Closed space" like a beginners area, or under direct supervision of a more qualified instructor. I know of one ski school here in Flachau that takes instructors who pass part one of their "Anwärter" but fail part two. All the ski schools here are on the lookout for additional instructors (freelancers) during the peak season. If you want the name of said ski school, DM me.

@RedandWhiteFlachau, indeed.
Citizens of EU/EFTA member states: Thanks to freedom of movement, citizens of EU/EFTA member states can enter, live, and work in Switzerland. Short-term employment: You do not need a residence permit if you work for an employer in Switzerland for up to 3 months, or if you provide a service in Switzerland for a maximum of 90 days per calendar year.

Regarding Austria, I know that the rules differ from state to state. I already tried a couple of years ago with Tirol and Vorarlberg, but without success. They recognized my qualification only as something like “training for the Anwärter Course,” meaning I would have to complete, say, 5 out of 7 days of the course—or something along those lines.

Honestly, as I mentioned, I initially considered Switzerland mainly because I was already in contact with some schools for other reasons, and some resorts are not so crowded during peak season. But I will also keep Salzburgerland in mind.

You know it makes sense.

@turms2, thanks for more detail on your qualifications. Sounds like you're all set! As @zikomo says, there'll almost certainly be a need for your skills, especially during holiday weeks when ski schools can quite easily sell out all available slots. To have someone they can call on if they have a walk in looking for a lesson the next day is ideal to them, it's just more money that they can make!

Looks like you're all set in a position to progress this.

As @zikomo also says, teaching beginners is great fun. I had a brother and sister for 3 days over the Silvester week, they went from never skiing before to being able to ski all the way from the top down to the tal in our resort, they loved it, and their dad was so pleased with how far they'd come on in 3 days. I love being able to give people those skills.

If I was full time I'd definitely hope for some more advanced lessons too, but in my current position I really enjoy what I get to do. The fact that if I don't have any teaching hours I just get to freeski is great too as there's no pressure to be constantly teaching as I have a wage coming in from accountancy too.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@swskier, thanks...

I’ll send some emails (probably as many as possible) and try to visit in person in the Easter week, since we’ll be in Switzerland anyway.

Honestly, I don’t want to do this full time, because I also want to spend time skiing with my kids. Maybe just a couple of hours here and there. I also don’t feel any pressure to teach the whole day, every day—it would mainly be for fun and for the experience.

A snowHead

Yes, I have worked on and off as an instructor in (German-speaking) Engelberg and in (French-speaking) Morgins over the last 15 years or so. Currently not doing so, but hopeful I'll be doing it again next season with another ski school, already been discussing it with the boss.

It's not clear what sort of thing you want to know about, but I'll share a couple of experiences.

I started late, over 50 by the time I did my BASI L1. Started teaching that same season even before I'd got the L2. (My wife had started before me, having done a gap year type course in Argentina the year before, so they already knew me and we were living there anyway).

I'd been leading groups for many years before that, wearing SCGB colours, so had a slight advantage over younger starters in some ways v-a-v group management, also empathy, especially with older learners. OTOH I could spot some of the BS on some of the training courses, had to keep my mouth shut a lot of the time. Confused

Native English speaking is often appreciated if you're getting a lot of British/Irish clients, more likely in places like Verbier and Zermatt then here in Morgins, where there are quite a few Dutch speaking instructors. IIRC you're German, so would be worth basing your chosen resort around your language skills. I have also taught in French and German (although the latter only a couple of times) and have found it useful to develop less word-based ways of teaching, which some people prefer anyway.

I only ever worked part time, mostly weekends in Engelberg where we had a large influx of people from Luzern and Zurich, including may ex-pats. Here in Morgins it was probably just as much the odd week days, especially at holiday periods, given that I often have change-overs to do at the weekends.

Most of my teaching was private lessons, some of which I organised with ex-pat groups to run as group lessons over several successive Saturdays and Sundays, but only a couple of time was I roped in to the generic group lessons. Guess which I prefer;-)

Only being available at limited time has become a problem in the last couple of years, since the Ski School I was working for lost a couple of patent-holders (son of the ex boss was one, he never actually taught) and struggled to meet the Patent-holder to trainee ratio. I get the impression that they're being a bit more strict about enforcing this, but it could just be that I've become more aware of it. So for better chances make sure you're available as much as they might want you to be.

What else? Ask away!

A snowHead

@Chaletbeauroc, Hi, and thanks for your reply.

The most important question for me is whether Swiss ski schools are generally open to employing people with other citizenships, or if it’s more like France, where the chances are quite low. Based on your experience, it seems that this isn’t really a problem, and that it’s more a matter of luck and good timing.

I’ll try to avoid the traditional French-speaking resorts, except perhaps the 4 Vallées, where there are many English-speaking guests. Something like Engelberg would probably be ideal, as it’s also easily accessible for me.

I’ll give it a try—there’s nothing to lose.

I don’t have any further questions right now, but I probably will in the future.

Thanks again.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Chaletbeauroc, thought so. Thats is far away for me. In Germany is the same as the Nationally certified ski instructor which means Level1, 2, 3 + courses like Risiko Management etc, and also at least Level1 in two other disciplines (e.g. if you want to be a national certified ski instructor you have to achieve Level1 in Snowboard and Telemark etc)
Far far away for me.

I’ve never heard of this with international school groups, at least not in the German-language forums. But I suppose the members there are not the ones who actually send the kids to these schools.

As far as I know, sometime at the end of January or start of February, many schools organize ski trips for a week. During that week, the slopes are full of young people skiing like crazy—especially in Andermatt and Sedrun.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Yes indeed the BASI 1 is only for indoor/artificial slopes.

The German Level 1 certificate I hold is recognized by the Swiss Association as equivalent to the Swiss Level 1. So officially, I hold the Level 1 from the Swiss Association (https://www.snowsports.ch/), including the membership, Instructor Card L1, etc. I have done everything last mont (recognition, fees etc)

Theoretically and practically, i have the Swiss Level 1, however in order to teach in 2027 i have to take this two day development course (i really do not know how to translate Fortbildung Kurs in Englisch) before December 2026. I am eligible to teach till 31.12.2026. I got the first year (2026) as a"present" because i joined the Association

After all it is free

@Chaletbeauroc, One correction though. BASI L1 is NOT only for indoor/artificial environment. More accurately it allows you to teach indoor/artificial on your own. And to teach on mountain under supervision. This was an important distinction for me, as I got my teaching hours to qualify to take L2 on mountain in Switzerland. Much as you were able to teach with just a L1 also!

What is true completely is that it is more who you are, your general skiing ability, and your attitude that will determine whether a school will take you on than anything else. Sounds like you had that all dialled in! Like you I had the benefit of age and life experience when I was going though the instructor levels, as well as a lot of experience in coaching other sports. And was a long-term friend of the ski school owners and patents. So they knew I would be competent at managing groups, knew how to teach, and what my level of general skiing was.

I am still called sometimes for specific help when they are busy, they seem to think I am good for nervous middle-aged women who are actually better than they think they are. And for older adult beginners who want to learn 121. I prefer the adult beginner groups though but am not getting much demand for that these days. I am not such a good fit for middle-aged men who are much worse than they think they are though....

I don't teach advanced skiers at all. My technical knowledge and teaching ability is definitely up to the task. But I have never felt that my personal skiing was as I learnt as an adult. What is cool is that my ski racing daughter will on the one hand mock my skiing and on the other hand engage me in coaching her own skiing. Sometimes in the same sentence. But then again maybe she just feels sorry for the old man! And little does she realise that when I feel things are not quite as they should be I simply follow her for a while to get back on it!

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@turms2, Lots of great advice from other posters but I think the common thread that we are all agreeing on is (as ever), it's about who you know. I got my original contract on the basis of knowing the area and being a casual acquaintance of a Ski School director.

You know it makes sense.

@RedandWhiteFlachau, well i do not know someone , so i will start from Zero but since its more for the adventure a not for the money to Cover the Living expenses etc i will give a shot and see what will come or not.
Without Stress and pressure. The worst will be , spending the ski holidays in Switzerland, exploring a resort in swiss alps with the family. Not Bad at all, either having a Job as an instructor or not.

Help!!

Working as an Instructor in Switzerland

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