Yet for the college or university seeking to set up such a program there are few guidelines to suggest what should be included in a curriculum. Also, for the individual working in the industry who aspires to the position of ski area manager, there is little agreement as to what competencies should be learned and what training should be received. To provide some answers for university and individual alike, the authors recently conducted a research study of one hundred of the nation’s largest ski area in order to determine from ski area managers themselves what they considered to be the important skills necessary for that position. Every state in the country which has a ski area was represented in the sample although states with large numbers of ski areas received larger representation in the study. Fifty-three ski areas responded to the survey. The remainder of this article is devoted to an analysis of their responses.
An overwhelming 80% of the respondents indicated that a ski area manager should have a college education. It should be kept in mind, however, that the higher educational standards indicated by the respondents may be due to the fact that the national sample emphasized larger ski areas. The nature of the operations at those larger areas may be more sophisticated and, therefore, the manager’s position may require a greater degree of formal education. Respondents went on to indicate which fields of study they would prefer ski area managers to come from. By far, business was ranked number one. This option was chosen by 31 of the respondents. Marketing and public relations was ranked second, chosen by 16 of the ski area respondents. Further down the line 6 people chose an administration or management major while 6 each also chose recreation administration, accounting, and mechanics.
Ski area managers, we found, tend to be promoted from within their present organization. One third of the ski areas which responded indicated that they had an equal tendency to hire from outside and promote from within while an additional 45% had a greater tendency to promote from within. We wanted to know what kinds of experiences were required for ski area managers. Sixty percent of the respondents indicated, in fact, that experience was required of ski area managers while the remaining 40% indicated that prior experience was desired but not required. Is there any specific job from which they come? Ski area managers, when promoted from within, tend to come almost equally from the position of either mountain manager or that of marketing manager. These two positions were those most favored by the respondents. The positions of assistant manager and ski school director were ranked almost equally yet were not considered as important as the previous two. The only other job title which respondents listed was that of operations manager, although this was not nearly as important as those job titles already mentioned. When ski area managers were brought in from outside the organization they tended to be managers from other ski areas. Assistant managers at other ski areas was the next most frequent response followed by construction foremen and accountants.
The ski area respondents were given a list of various skills which was developed by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities and asked to indicate how important these skills were in the development of a ski area manager. A skill could be rated either very important, important, moderately important, of little importance, or not important. By analyzing the skills considered most important we can begin to develop a training program for future ski area managers. Each skill was ranked according to its importance. If a skill was rated very important by everyone it would have scored 100. If a skill had been rated very important by everyone it would have scored 75. Therefore, those skills listed below with their respective scores represent those scores considered either important or very important by a majority of ski area respondents.
Certain skills are better taught in the classroom while other competencies are better developed on the job. The following skills, appropriate for development in the classroom, were considered either important or very important.
- General Administration and Management Techniques (89)
- Accounting (82)
- Control of ticket sales (87)
- Control of labor (87)
- Personnel Management (83)
- Marketing (80)
- Determination of which types of tickets to sell (84)
- Publications (81)
- Development of ski packages (79)
- Advertising and promotions (76)
- Financing (79)
- Liability Insurance (78)
Of all the operational aspects of running a ski area (skills better taught on-the-job), lift operations was considered by far the most important that ski area managers should have knowledge of. According to the respondents, a manager should be able to:
- Apply safety regulations and understand liability (85)
- Select lift equipment (85)
- Institute ticket and traffic control (82)
- Carry out lift preventative maintenance (83)
- Apply safety checking procedures (81)
- Utilize ski school and accident prevention program (80)
- Install lifts (80)
- Carry out evacuation and first aid (78)
- Operate ground lifts (77)
- Operate aerial lifts (76)
- Use communications systems (75)
In the area of hill maintenance, it was felt that managers should be able to design and develop ski hills (81). Certain snow farming procedures were also considered important. Managers should be able to apply the theory of snow grooming and snow textures (78) and use the various kinds of snow grooming equipment (75).
Additionally, managers should know how to operate ski school activities (78) as well as the operation of ski rentals and repairs (75).
The skills which are ranked between 50 and 74 are those considered between ‘of moderate importance’ and ‘important.’
The management of skills ranked in this group were:
- Business correspondence (70)
- Economics (67)
- Business office operation (66)
- Personal selling (63)
- Sales psychology (59)
The remainder of the skills in this category are those which can best be taught on-the-job. In the area of lift operations, the skills which scored were:
- Prepare log books (73)
- Carry out daily shut down procedures (68)
- Install and maintain high and low voltage wiring (68)
- Carry out basic repairs and maintenance of electrical motors and switching (65)
The importance of the hill was stressed in the number of skills which were oriented to the maintenance of the hill and the farming and making of snow for the hill.
As far as maintaining the hill is concerned, the manager should be able to:
- Plan and establish pre-season snow and fencing (63)
- Landscape and control erosion (70)
- Control parking (69)
- Grade (67)
- Tile and construct water bars (60)
- Plan and maintain ground cover (60)
- Control and maintain trees (51)
- Fertilize, select and plant appropriate trees (51)
Snow farming was regarded as more important than snowmaking. It should be remembered, however, that this is a national study. On a regional basis we would expect to see snowmaking rated more highly in those areas which do not have the natural advantages of snow-belt areas.
It was felt important that the potential manager, in farming snow, be able to:
- Grade moguls (74)
- Apply the techniques of snowmaking (72)
- Compact and pulverize (72)
- Carry out general vehicle maintenance (71)
- Carry out simple repairs and maintenance of gasoline and diesel engine motors (65)
- Assist in snow collecting (58)
- Develop and apply snow collecting techniques (57)
- Utilize basic meteorology (54)
- Identify snow types (52)
Various snow making activities were considered to be of some importance. The manager, it was felt, should be able to:
- Carry out preventative maintenance (62)
- Start up and shut down the system (61)
- Select and lay out various designs of snowmaking equipment (67)
- Assist in snowmaking (60)
- Prepare log books and recordings (59)
- Conduct air preventative maintenance (50)
The remainder of the skills in this category are those connected with the operation and maintenance of sports equipment. Experience should be gained in:
- Setting up a security and rental retrieval system (67)
- Operating a pro shop (67)
- Determining the amounts and types of equipment (67)
- Instituting an inventory control system (63)
- Keeping performance records (59)
- Determining proper storage requirements (57)
- Storing equipment (55)
- Developing a distribution and return system (54)
- Organizing a labeling system (50)
The remaining skills listed on the questionnaire were regarded by the respondents as of little or moderate importance. These were:
- Develop cross-country ski facilities (44)
- Identify and utilize soil structure (48)
- Control pests (41)
- Computer applications (30)
- Develop snowmobiling facilities (22)
What of the rewards for mastering these skills and achieving the position of ski area manager. Respondents indicated that the average starting salary for the position of ski area manager was $19,885. The responses in the sample ranged from $8,000 to $40,000. After two years in the position the manager could expect to earn $24,786, with a range from $12,000 to $48,000.
There are some difficulties in accepting the results here at face value.
The responses are not only a reflection of what the respondents think is important; they are also a reflection of the respondent’s own background and experience. What we may be seeing is not so much a picture of what a ski area manager should have but rather what the respondents actually have. The message, however, is clear. Ski area managers consider the above list of skills to be of various degrees of importance in training for the manager’s position. Those presently in the industry wishing to move upwards would do well to acquaint themselves with what is considered important by those who are already there. Secondly, those companies or areas large enough to be concerned with the internal promotion of management can use this survey as the basis for a skill training program. Thirdly, colleges and universities which turn out graduates who seek to enter the ski area industry can use this information in the planning of their curriculum. We at Michigan State University have fed this information in to the course requirements of students who elect to take the Commercial Recreation option in our department of Park and Recreation Resources in an attempt to provide the kind of curriculum and the kind of potential ski area manager that the industry wants.
