A youngster’s quest for a skiing career is tantamount, it seems, to admitting that he simply has no direction or can’t make it elsewhere. Ergo the rejoinder, “Ski teaching? C’mon fella, when are you going to settle down?”
When you come to think of it, there are few careers as satisfying as a ski instructor’s—work in the out of doors, the rewards of teaching, the chance to move into the management of an industry on the upswing that shows no signs of slowing down.
The sad part of the story is that we have brought the distorted image of the ski instructor upon ourselves. What, for instance, is your area doing to recruit top instructors? (Is that “instructors wanted” ad, run for two weeks before the season opens, really enough?) How are you helping your people find housing? What incentives do they have to stay with you? And how do you plan to keep them around in the summer? Lastly, and most important, have you looked at your salaries? Are your instructors getting a fair piece of that action they help generate? Does their pay reflect their worth—or only your opinion of it?
Elsewhere, the life of a ski instructor is a different story. In Europe, the ski-teaching corps is an elite bunch. Most represent “favorite sons,” in many cases the best their towns have to offer. Elsewhere, a skiing career is a serious and respected calling.
Granted, say some, but most of our youngsters have college degrees. What does a career with a ski area hold for them? Very little one would think, judging from the general dearth of imaginative area recruiting efforts. As our industry grows, so must our thinking about attracting the types of people who will make it prosper.
It’s always easier to cry “No locals available” and then start scouting the European instructor crop. But isn’t this the same attitude that has resulted, on another plane, in the generally poor esteem in which U.S. skiers—competitive racers, in particular—are held?
A recognition of our own resources and a willingness to develop them are the ultimate determinants of how our racers will fare in world standings—and, at home, how successfully and professionally the ski area industry will grow.
