Ski Instructor Academy Avis 14

I took part in the Zero to Hero course in the French Pyrenees and it genuinely exceeded all my expectations. From the start, everything was so well organised and welcoming. Martin, our instructor and host, completely made the experience what it was. His energy and passion for skiing are infectious, and his knowledge is incredible he really knows how to push everyone to improve while keeping it fun and relaxed. Each day on the slopes was so funny and an incredible experience. The accommodation was great too, really comfortable and social, and it became the perfect place to relax after skiing. Even the van drives in the mornings were brilliant, with great tunes playing and everyone in a good mood ready for the day ahead. What stood out most was how Martin brought the whole group together, by the end it felt like a proper group of friends and I’ve made some amazing memories. I was a bit unsure before going, but I’d 100% recommend it to anyone, such an incredible experience from start to finish.

I did the Zero to Hero course in the French Pyrenees. Absolutely amazing course! From the get go it was amazing, Martin our instructor and hotel host is an awesome character and really made the whole course special! His knowledge of skiing was incredible and is a great instructor taking everyone on the course to the highest possible standard by challenging us while making it beyond fun. We skied almost everyday with the options for great extracurricular activities on our off days. Everything was done with a personal touch and he really brought our group together and I have made some lifelong friends and memories along the way! I was on the fence about doing this course but would 100% recommend to anyone to do it, I have had the time of my life and got an amazing opportunity to work after we qualified. Everything Martin has set up and his attitude from the get go was outstanding and really made the whole experience special. Amazing place, amazing experience and awesome guy.

It is hard to speak highly enough about the team at SIA. Professional, entertaining, kind, good people who are also exceptional teachers. I had such a great time, learned so much and will definitely return. The company is well organised and focused on the best interests of the students who were great fun too!

Friendly atmosphere with top class tuitions. Will be going back next year and would definitely recommend

This is our 8th year on snow with SIA in performance clinics and it was as brilliant as ever! The tuition from Jamie Doyle is exceptional-perfect balance of specific exercises, individual feedback, free skiing and lots of laughs. I cannot recommend SIA highly enough. My skiing always benefits from doing the course and I will be back next year- if not before!!
Take the plunge- you won’t regret it!!

Strap in, this might be a lengthy review :-D

After doing A LOT of research into different ski instructor courses in Canada and comparing all of the inclusions from them all (I'm a little obsessed with spreadsheets), it was clear that Ski Instructor Academy (aka SIA, SIA Austria) was the right fit for me.

I had already 80% decided on Banff as my destination of choice so but there was still a few companies there offering similar courses. In the end I opted for the 13 week 'Ultimate Ski Course' The deciding factors for me came down to a few fundamental points;

Accommodation & Meals - most of the others were housed in hostels or houses which didn't look too great. SIA included a centrally located hotel in Banff with my own queen size bed, pool, sauna and everything else a nice hotel should have. It was perfect and had room cleaning service regularly too which was great! Breakfast was great and included on all of the training days. We were given a meal card which was auto topped up each week with a set amount of money, we could use the card in something like 15 different restaurants in town to have our evening meals, all kinds of cuisine too so we never got bored having to eat the same food. Also, on this subject, the amount issued for meals was designed to allow meals for 4 days a week, but Abi (the resort manager and who was totally amazing btw) give us a little sample itinerary of where we could eat each day to take advantage of the special offers and some weeks this meant you could get 5 or 6 meals a week included - that was a little bonus, meant my spending money could go on other activities 🍺.

The Training - This was kinda sold to me by SIA at the start and I was probably a bit sceptical at the time, but in hindsight it was absolutely spot on. SIA train at Lake Louise which has its pros and cons on paper, but in real life it's just pros! Allow me to explain; There are three resorts in Banff - Mt. Norquay is the closest and pretty small. Sunshine Village is pretty decent and about 20-25 mins by ski bus, but then about another 20 mins on a gondola to the lifts. Lake Louise is about 40 mins by ski bus but lands you right at the base of the lifts. Also, this sounds a lot but actually this is the most amazingly pretty bus ride, you never get sick of it! It's also good fun chatting with your friends about the night before or the ski day on the way home. Over the 13 weeks we skied Sunshine Village twice and Mt Norquay once. Everyone just wanted to ski at Lake Louise, it's the biggest and the best by far.

The Inclusions - this was one of the major factors and one that actually took most time during my research as some websites are easier to extract info than others. Basically their title of 'Ultimate Ski Course' is pretty much that, I wasn't hit with any hidden extras or optional costs. It's just included. One of the courses I looked at claimed to be L1&2 but actually the L2 exams were going to be an optional extra which was basically an extra $1000, others claimed to include AST L1 or Snowpark L1 but were actually paid options. The SIA course looked comparable at first glance price wise, but when you actually delved into it then it just got better and better value for money and was just easy to know that what I had budgeted was in fact what I would pay.

The experience itself was unreal, I can say without any doubt that this was the best decision I have ever made and I wish I could do it over and over again, I made new friends which I know will be in my life for a very long time and I just had the most amazing season in Canada. I can not stress enough how much I recommend this to everyone I meet and talk to abut my season. Thank you SIA, absolutely top class and changed my life x

SIA has been fundamental in fulfilling my dream of becoming a ski instructor. I came across them while searching for a ski instructor course. I had fallen into a bit of a trap with Snowminds, and something didn’t feel right, so I did some more research online. That’s when I found SIA, and I just felt it was the right choice. I booked with them without really knowing what I was getting into—but the team at SIA were excellent at communicating, which made me feel so much more confident about the whole process, especially since there’s quite a bit of money involved.

As for the course itself, I must say it was an absolutely amazing experience. I did the November 6 + 3 week “2 in 1” course. I’m a very critical skier—I always analyze my skiing and ask for tips. Being in an environment surrounded by people who were equally focused on improving their skiing really made me happy. One thing I would call a real game changer is SIA’s close relationship with Snowsports Academy. It’s reassuring to know that the examiners themselves are the ones teaching you, properly preparing you to be exam-ready.

Another big part of what makes SIA so special is its community. Many of the people who completed SIA years ago now work for SIA, and seeing them gives me the belief that one day I too can help bring in a new generation of ski instructors.

One thing to remember is that SIA doesn’t just offer a course—it offers an experience. You could go for the experience alone and be happy with it. But for some people, the goal is to become a ski instructor. And sure, that’s great—but it doesn’t end there. You’ll find yourself addicted to learning, expanding, and growing your knowledge. That’s how it was for me. So, a fair warning: it can be addictive. The feeling of being a ski instructor hasn’t left my mind, and I plan to do more with SIA in the future!

I completed the 5 week Anwärter course with a job guarantee in Japan. Initially I was maybe hesitant because of the price tag !! BUT oh was I wrong, during the 5 week course we stayed in the most outstanding accommodation, the level of coaching we got before our exam was amazing (and needed🤣) and personally tailored to each individual. All the coach’s were awesome (special mention to Ed Gee!) and made the 5 week experience even more special. They also sorted my friends and I the perfect ski school in Japan (Myoko Snowsports) which we wouldn’t have found without SIA !! . It’s definitely worth the money to get the exam prep and not have to worry about sorting a job in Japan (which can be difficult yourself! ) also you’ll meet the most amazing people.

Really cool people !

I’ve completed multiple courses with SIA, and there’s a reason I’ve done multiple. I first completed the 11 week course in Austria which was one of the best experiences I’ve had skiing, you get coaching from leading professionals in the industry which is second to none. Some of the most passionate and friendly coaches/mentors in the industry. They only have your best interest at heart and push you to be the best you can be.

The following season I completed more training for my landes 2 exam. Which really pushed my skiing, to prepare me for the step up. I can’t thank the guys and girls at SIA enough.

I made the 11 week course in Kaprun 2025. Got my Anwärter and Landes 1 license thanks to SIA coaches. Great course, awesome coaches, loads of fun, simply unforgettable experience.

what an experience, I did the anwärter 5 week course October 2024. And loved every second, met some of my now best friends and some of the most incredible instructors ever.

From the start, the booking process is smooth and you have constant contact with someone if you have any questions.
They help with visas, sort your job for you and anything else that you may need.

In resort, I flew into Salzburg, and met Jamie and a group of others who were on my course. Jamie separated us into groups and got us in our transfers to Kaprun (included in price)

We were the first group to turn up in the 24/25 summer so was expecting a few teething issues maybe, but it was so smooth sailing, I went solo, and got put into accommodation with 5 other guys, again who are now some of my best friends. The first couple days you’re almost left to settle in and get to know your new friends.

The accommodation that SIA get is unbelievable, ours was right by the town, and even had a swimming pool & saunas downstairs.

The SIA guys also take you to brundl before getting on snow, to get any new gear that you do need. I cannot recommend enough getting stuff in brundl, as you can get professional advice & the SIA instructors make sure you get the right stuff for you! Also a cheeky discount for SIA participants too.

When you get on snow, the instructors are class, they knock your skiing back down to the beginning and build it back up so you are exam ready, and also remind you as Jamie would say, skiing is a motherf****** sport!

You have a different instructor each week up until your exam. This means you’re almost guaranteed to find something that just clicks for you, the instructors also love the social side of things, so make sure you enjoy a beer or 2 with them! They really are great people.

you also have weekends off from training to either chill out or ski with your friends, you will be knackered so I bet you’ll just relax.

When in training you also get video analysis & some theory work preparing for teaching exams & your theory exam. Again this is class, it’s with your instructor so you already know them, and you can ask anything you may need.

After 3.5 weeks of training you go into a 10 day exam. I was lucky, my examiner was also a SIA instructor so it was a real comfortable transition.

Instructors will also come round to your accommodations in the evenings to check everything’s alright & also help with any theory work.

I couldn’t recommend SIA enough, and going forward I’ll definitely do my landes with them and maybe more.

Big love to Jamie, Pelle, Lawrence & ben, the instructors that I had.
And also Jonny, Ed & polly who I had a fair bit of contact with, and also Stefan, who’s alright for a snowboarder I guess 🙄

Was a pleasure guys! Until next time.

Will NB (Chef)

Awesome team of really highly qualified coaches. I've done both my Anwärter and Landes 1 training with SIA, and wouldn't have passed without them. Special shout out to Jonny, Ed, and Gunter. The accommodation and activities alongside the course is world class - I arrived to my Anwärter knowing no German, and thanks to 4 weeks of evening lessons from SIA was able to pass written and spoken exams at the end of both my courses. I recommend SIA to everyone I meet, and wish I could do it all again!

I’ve been skiing for a long time now and have experienced some average ski lessons with average people but with Jonny it was by far the best I’ve had to date. Jonny was Knowledgeable and passionate about skiing and made it easy for me to understand advance techniques. 10/10. Highly recommend