It is an Electronic Travel Authorisation and the easiest document to obtain from the Canadian Immigration Department.  It will allow you to travel to Canada for up to 180 days at a time before forced to leave, it spans over a duration of 5 years but will not allow you to work.

Yes you do but don’t worry its automatically attached to your IEC working Holiday Visa if you have received your POE. So you do not need to apply for one separately, unless you fail to get a working visa. In which case you need to apply for an eTa directly.

A POE is a Port of Entry letter and is sent to you electronically. This is considered your visa and will need to be shown at immigration for the final decision on being let in.

Nope that’s it! Unless they send you a message requesting more information there are no more tasks to complete, but keep checking your portal for messages from the IEC or your POE letter.

Until you get to the immigration desk its the closest thing to a visa. However the final paperwork will be done at the visa desk upon arrival. But DO NOT LEAVE THE AIRPORT, till you have seen the immigration department in the VISA HALL upon arriving. If you leave the airport without getting your visa activated you will not be legally allowed to work…..and no you cannot return through immigration.

You can upload your proof of purchasing (receipt) the ACRO which will suffice until they ask for the certificate, once your certificate arrives upload this via a webform. Remember all documents must be uploaded then submitted to the IEC. Careful that you don’t just upload it and forget to submit it!

Even though you are working with kids you are not required to have a medical certificate unless specifically asked by the IEC. So do not tick the box requesting one. Only teachers and care workers need to have one, not those on an internship. Some nationalities maybe asked to provide one but UK, Australian, New Zealand and most European residents need not apply.

We strongly recommend that you have a full two years on your passport prior to entering Canada.
The immigration officer will only give you a visa for the amount of time your current passport is valid for. However unlike not having a long enough insurance policy you can extend this. Order a new passport and ask for an extension of your visa to the 2 year mark. (assuming your insurance is still valid) You can transfer your visa over to the new passport, but if you have the opportunity its much less hassle to pre-empt this and get your passport renewed nice and early so that this doesn’t become a chore during your time out in Canada.

Take both passports with you to immigration/visa department. They will recognise this and put your visa into the new passport upon arrival.

The Immigration officer will only give you the length of visa that your insurance covers.

Depending on the airport and day of arrival you can get caught up in the queues for 3-4hrs or be through in a breeze and be loading your bags on the bus in 1.5hrs time.

After landing you need to queue to see the immigration officer and then queue for your visa activation prior to leaving the airport. MAKE SURE YOU TELL IMMIGRATION- “I need to process my working visa where do I need to go?”
Once you have your visa, depending on your flight plans, you can catch your connecting flight or collect your bags, meet up with the group in arrivals and prepare to board the bus to your final destination.

If you have entered on an eTA and didn’t have your POE upon arrival then you will need to leave the country to activate your visa when it does arrive. This can be done by flying outside of Canada and back in again or by Flag-poling.

It usually involves a day trip, hiring a car or taking a bus and driving to a border town on the US state line or an airport with American ownership such as Cranbrook or an equivalent and clocking out of Canada and back in again and activating your visa.

Not on its own. You also need to register with a Canada Service Center and obtain your SIN number which is a fairly painless process and requires your visa and passport. Once you have this document then any employer can legally employ and pay you.

Most people decide to get insurance before they pay the full amount 8 weeks before flying. However remember you can always get a single trip insurance policy and be covered from the date you pay for your policy not just the date you fly.

Policy premiums change every year of course and there are policies which can be found around £700 for a year. However we suggest an absolute minimum of £900 is around the right mark for insurance for a 2 year policy. If we had the chance though, we would force everyone into the £1200 policies but each to their own of course!

If you are skiing or snowboarding then YES. Decide if you are going to be sking or riding in the park and get coverage for this too. Each policy is different. Are you planning on backcountry and going outside of resort boundaries or heliskiing? In which case you might need additional insurance nearer the time. This can be added to your existing policy or purchase a seperate policy for the day(s)

Not on your policy but you will on the employers insurance policy. All employees are covered by Worksafe BC
Your personal insurance will cover you for your time off.

No sorry. Please check your policy carefully as we are not brokers and cannot legally advise you. All we can do is suggest which providers have been good to previous clients.You must do your own due diligence. We have previously sent you documentation covering as must information as we legally can without over stepping the mark.

Depending on the severity of the injury, you will be sent to Ski Patrol who will assess your injury and deal with the injury or stabilse you, consisting of either patching you up and a pat on the back then calling you a taxi to the hospital or in some cases calling an ambulance or air ambulance.

A WSC rep will be notified by Ski Patrol or alerted by one of the clients. We shall assist where we can but please be aware there are lots of people in resort which require our presence at times. If it is possible and we can do so we will transport the client to the local hospital or arrange a taxi. Some reps do not necessarily have transportation.
We will make sure the patient is stable, looked after and not distressed. Then help with informing the insurance company and if asked the family member.
WSC will remain the go-to between injured person-insurance company and guardian for as long as needed or required.

Sun Peaks has a good medical center at the base of the slopes. The main hospital is in Kamloops & Kelowna. Which are 40mins to 2hrs away.

Panorama has a hospital in Invermere which is 25 mins away but the main hospital is in Cranbrook which is 2hrs away.

Serious medical emergencies may involve being sent to Kelowna.

Dayforce is the app which all employees use to coordinate their work time, hours paid and other employee information. We do not have access to this. You will be onboarded with Employee experience after completing your Level 1.

Standard Interns: When you work for the resort you will be rostered on and get approximately 20hrs of work per week on average across the season, some weeks a little less, some weeks a little more. This work will predominantly be instructor work on slope, however if the resort is having a quiet week they may on rare occasions ask you to do some other duties in and around the resort.

Hybrid Interns: You have a part time position with the snowschool and will expect to earn around $2500 over the entire season. It is not guaranteed like any work however this is a comfortable estimation.

Good question, WSC have put this programme together and the resort administrate it. We are in charge of your off slope logistics. The Ski & Ride Managers are in charge of your training, your work load and on slope logistics.

If you are unsure simply ask us and if you have a grumble or something isn’t to your expectations then pull us aside and have a quiet word, if we can sort it we will.

You have to remember anything to do with your employment is between you and your employer. You change from an WSC Intern to a Ski Resort employee once you successfully pass your Level 1 and start your Staff training. We cannot get involved with individual disputes unless the issue is specifically affecting the Internship as a whole. Nor can we tell how the Ski Schools to run their business. Likewise they would not tell us how to run ours. So please bare this in mind. We are obviously here to offer advice and you can lean on us for support. We will always try to help where we can.

Initially you are staying at the Cahilty Lodge Hotel, then (Level 1 Interns) after your Level 1 exams you move down to staff accommodation which is normally the Burfield Hostal.

Level 2 & 3 Interns move earlier as you have less time at the Cahilty.

You are initially staying in resort in the lower village at Panorama Mountain Village. Around the 3 week mark you move to staff accommodation which is pre organised for you in Invermere. All Hybrid & Standard Interns are staying in Windermere Pointe Apartments in Invermere.

Initially you will be sharing with people of similar age and same gender in your bedroom. However some condos might be mixed gender as they have more than one bedroom. Initially WSC choose who goes with who whilst in training. After that at Panorama we let the clients chose which cohort they want to share with when in staff accommodation.

I’ve been putting crews together for over 20 years. Sometimes I get it wrong but normally we manage to pair everyone up fairly well. One pair are actually getting married this year!

However we cannot get it right all the time. If you simply aren’t getting on then come and chat with us quietly one afternoon and we shall see if we can move you. This isn’t always possible but we do understand and try to make it happen.

Those going to Sun Peaks can suggest who they want to share with when moving to staff accommodation but need to do so early or it will be organised for you as you are staying in designated Sun Peaks staff accommodation and we have less say over this matter.

Make sure you are very thorough in getting approval from us before booking your flight. We need to ensure that you are arriving at a suitable time to meet the group and travel on the same transportation provided. We suggest getting a flexible ticket so you can make changes should you or we need to.p0

Make some plans to find accommodation if you need to. As soon as you know you are going to be late, alert the person who is in charge of the group so we can plan accordingly. We will help arrange alternative transportation to the resort but this will be at your expense.

You need your passport, photo ID, proof of insurance, Port of Entry letter and a copy of your flight details. (tickets issed at the airport)

Batteries run out! Take paper and digital copies of everything and tag, pin or save these in an easily accesible place on your laptop, phone or tablet.
Carry a folder for all your paper copies in your carry on bag.

Your tickets will be available at the airport.

With the WSC flights you have one carry on bag, one computer bag or equivalent. One hold bag, One ski/board bag and a boot bag allowance with your flights. More precise information on weight limitations can be found on the airlines baggage allowance webpage and/or on your ticket.
Depending on which airline we fly with your boot bag and ski bag weight limitation maybe combined.

At the time of writing, this usually has to be added at the airport on the day.You simply turn up early and go to the airlines desk or check in area and pay for this directly. Currently it has not been possible to add this to your booking unless stated in advance, hence paid for separately.

Usually in the airport at Costas or a similar venue nice and early. Our rep or Director will be there to greet you and help you get checked in. We will be there 4 hrs before the flight and will remain around check in till we cannot wait any longer. Somebody will be flying out to resort with you.

We will all be queuing up to first fill out some electronic forms, take a print out and see the immigration officer to explain our reason for entry. You will be asked some simple questions, before being let through. If you are unsure please ask them where to go next to get your work visa activated. DO NOT get guided into a direction that is different to what the immigration officer told you. It is extremely important that you remain in the area to process your visa before picking up your bags. Once you have passed through into arrivals there is no turning back to sort your visa out.

We are always on hand to discuss anything that you have concerns about or disagree with. Some of these forms are not created by us and you will subjected to the same terms as everyone else working in resort or using the slopes. These documents are sometimes governed by Canadian provincial law or local to the resorts owning company. If you have any disagreements please write to us by email and bring this to our attention at the time.

If you are one of our UK clients or joining the main group in London, then we normally fly out from Gatwick or Heathrow.

Sometimes clients fly in much later than the main group. In which case you will have to pay a supplement charge for us to organise individual transportation to catch up. This will be added to your quote or charged independently.

Very likely, the example shown is indicative and not cast in stone. The resort reserve the right to alter the training days if need be, however these changes are minor and you will be informed by your trainers or by WSC.

You will receive a minimum of 20hrs per week? Its enough trust us, you need time to recover from jetlag, time to get your ski legs and time to chill out. Free skiing is allowed on your days off. Panorama is the exception where you will not be allowed to free ski until the resort is officially open to the public, (2 weeks into your internship) till then all skiing and riding is done within the days training.

You will complete your exams in the 3rd week of being in resort.
Further training may happen after this exam either straight away following successful completion of your exams or during quiet periods, some are offered as bolt ons, some as Snow school onboarding and staff training.

Training days are run differently at each resort according to the resorts Snow School Ski & Ride Manager. Days off will be given, usually the first 3 weeks are reasonably intense so time is limited initially as we need to get you all instructor ready for the general public arriving.

Your trainers are either long term level 3 instructors for the CSIA/CASI or Level 4’s. All have a minimum of 8 years instructing. They are tried and tested trainers who are very adept at keeping you on the edge of your comfort zone so that you neither get too tired and injure yourself nor conversely switch off and become bored.

Get as much as you can from these fantastic skiers and boarders as they will be really keen to share their knowledge. It may not be until much later that you really understand how lucky you are to share this time with these people. They are at the top of their game.

On another note they maybe your future mentor or employer so if you get the chance buy them a coffee or beer and keep them sweet!

Interns may be asked to do one more 3 day training programme to be eligible for some season long programmes which are based around All Mountain Programmes or Canadian Adaptive Snowsports or Race Coach programmes. You will all undergo 1-2 days of staff training after your exams.

If you are at Panorama or Fairmont Hot Springs and on a standard Internship then you get 8 days dedicated Level 2 training.

If you are going to Sun Peaks you will get 5 days dedicated Level 2 training.

Both resorts also offer staff training most mornings or a designated half day per week. This method of delivery changes each year.

You will receive a whopping 16 days Level 2 training if you are on our Hybrid programme.

If it says this on your quote then yes they are.

Its a 4 day exam with a CASI conductor.

It is a combination of a 2 day Teach module, a 2 day Ski module and a 2 day Exam.

It will start from mid January onwards, during quieter times. It is spread over a few weeks so it doesn’t interfere with your work schedule.

Lots of reasons:
1. Get more out of your training
2. Recover faster
3. Keep your stamina up
Please do not expect to get fit out there, there are too many distractions and its much better for your experience if you start a training programme now!

Now. Not next week, not after my birthday, not on Bank Holiday Monday, not when your star sign is aligned with Uran…Just start. We’ve put a free 8 week programme together, its currently under a revamp but for now the format will give you some ideas.
My best advice is not to skip leg day and concentrate on legs, knees, ankles, core and flexibility. So in a nutshell cross-fit style training, Yoga and Squats.
Have fun!

Then you don’t get paid. So the quicker you recover the better.

Up to you, the GBP£ is strong against the dollar at time of writing so its cheaper in Canada and lots of gear out there. However those going to Sun Peaks will have less opportunity to shop, whereas those going to Panorama or Fairmont Hot Springs will have some opportunity to go shopping. Otherwise buy in the UK a mix of Snow & Rock, Ellis Brigham, Decathalon, Mountain Warehouse, StellarEquipment.

Soft shell clothing is where you have an outer weather proof layer attached to a thermal layer within. A hard shell is a layering method where these two elements are seperate garments. Acheived with a hard shell wind and water proof jacket and pants and a separate down jacket underneath.

Gloves, down jacket, good socks and a full face snood.

There is usually a period where it can reach over -25-30, you may not be teaching on these days but training may occur if really necessary in short spurts in between lots of hot chocolate and cafe stops.
If the conditions are worse or considered dangerous then only the lower parts of the mountain will be accessed or simply closed for those few days. This is an unfortunate event and obviously outside of everyones control but will affect your work hours during that period.

You wear your own ski gear for training, but you will be given a uniform for when you are working, this consists of ski jacket and pants and usually an inner gilet and snood. You need to provide your own boots, helmet, goggles, gloves and inner layers at all times.

If you have ordered from us and its UK based then it will arrive and be posted to you if asked in early November.

Equipment will be invoiced separately to your main booking. This cannot be added to your quote.

No sorry the reason we do this so cheaply is that we want you to have the best discount possible.We do not have the man hours set up to be a conventional shop front. So see what is on offer, do your own research and then decide. We will only sell equipment specials that are suitable. If you are buying K2 equipment or Noble Custom gear then we may alert you to the more popular pieces, but we will not get engaged in in-depth analysis of your choices or interests. Sorry hope you understand!

Yes you should otherwise you will feel the financial pinch every time to use your native currency card.

We suggest Wise for all our interns. As mentioned before this bank card has been tried and tested and approved. So keep things simple.

You will in the first week have time to get a sim card. However Sun Peaks clients will end up with less opportunity as the nearest town is 40 mins away and a little expensive to get there. So try to get something at the airport in Vancouver or in resort if need be. Sussing what you want in advance is a good idea. Panorama clients live 20 mins from town and its easy to get down there on your day off, but regardless of which resoret you are in your first 3 weeks are limited for time off so have some data on your phone as back up. Read the blogs for ideas.

We all use Whats App in the lead up to the internship and during your training. WSC and Trainers will post on the WhatsApp groups which will be set up in advance of you heading out.

Usually we get the groups set up mid October. Then you can chat till your hearts content

Yes there are areas where you can get wifi but its slow, so please make sure you have something already on your account set up so you can stay in touch with home and your fellow peers. EE and Vodafone sometimes do great roaming packages that you can take away with you.

Book another bag at the airport or decide that maybe you don’t need all that stuff and leave some behind. Just saying…

Check out the blogs in this section and realise that, you will not need “outfits” you are not going to “nightclubs” this isn’t a fashion show. If you cannot fit what you need in the allowance and you think you need another bag, then I rethink your packing methods or dump some non-essentials.

Bring 70’s gear though!