What would happen if every ski teaching professional in one state...say Vermont for example... decided, their pay being wholly inadequate, to say, "I quit?" Or, simply went on strike? Or, as the Aspen Pro Patrol did years ago, decided to unionize?
How would resorts handle such a problem?
The resorts already have a decidedly clear problem finding enough qualified skiers to fill those jobs as it is; would they be able to handle such a drain? And, with the recent restrictions imposed on H2B and other visas used to bring in teaching professionals from abroad, this is a problem that is only likely to get worse.
Teaching professionals, for the most part, have spent years...some decades... honing their craft. From the many hours of working on their own skiing to the inevitable time spent in clinics, to the countless hours working with beginners in the hope that they would someday advance their skills and be able to then teach more accomplished skiers, these professionals have fully committed themselves.
Typically, it takes a ski instructor a minimum of five years to attain a level III teaching accreditation, during which time, the hours spent on their own, studying and improving their skills, asking questions of othersand working with students amount to the equivalent of perhaps a post graduate degree in the sport. It certainly equals an undergraduate degree in the field, with a particularly strong emphasis on practical experience, something no college graduate has at the time they leave their school. Moreover, these instructors are then expected to continue their education with mandatory continuing education clinics.
Further, the resorts for which they teach expect all that any employer expects; timeliness, a professional appearance at all times, a growing base of knowledge, the ability to communicate with clients and more.
Yet, how do these same resorts treat such professionals? Not well in many cases.
What do these professionals receive in the way of compensation? In some bigger western resorts, compensation is more than adequate, with hourly wages, in some cases, exceeding $20.00 per hour. Unfortunately, those who receive such compensation are the elite of the teaching world. Typically, a western pay rate is significantly less and give the exceptionally high cost of living in western resorts towns, such professionals must find a second job at night simply to make it through the season unless they are blessed with a long list of clients who tip exceptionally well.
In the world of Eastern resorts, it is a completely different scenario and culture. Here, instructors are lucky if they make $15.00 per hour hour, with tips that don't come close to matching those out west. If an eastern instructor makes $500 a week, they are extremely lucky.
Moreover, instructors only get paid for the time they are actually teaching. A blank during the daily schedule is just that, a blank...no revenue and perhaps only a modicum of "show up pay."
Do the Eastern resorts charge lesson for their lesson products? Hardly.
Is the work easier? No.
Do any resorts provide seasonal health coverage free of charge? No.
Yet, who is it that often provides a guest's primary impression of any resort? The teaching professional. Anyone see a problem here? Anyone wonder why resorts have problems retaining staff or why such teaching professionals feel no qualms about relocating should a better position become available?
And let's not forget the seasonal nature of the work. However accomplished and talented a teaching professional may be, they still must find a second job during the so called "off season" in order to simply survive economically. How may resorts make an effort to find off season positions for their teaching staff? Very few.
There is a certain shortsightedness in the outlook of the resorts; the industry as a whole is going through some rough times, with very few able to maintain their historical number of skier/rider visits each season. True, the economy as a whole is not in good shape, but the resort issues significantly pre-date the downturn in the global economy.
Consistent performance is what resorts expect from their teaching professionals, but that is a one way street, as the professionals certainly cannot expect the same from the resorts.
Quite simply, resorts need to find more diversified ways of maintaining their income levels and use some of their revenues to assure teaching professionals that they are indeed valued. Provide teaching professionals with a quality wage that reflects all the time and effort it has taken to become a polished instructor. Provide them with health care that covers them when they are on their own time working on their skills. Relying on workers compensation for injuries suffered during the course of their work is simply not enough for those who risk grave bodily injuries in order to simply be better at what they do. There is a certain lack of incentive to spend one's own time improving, given the physical risks involved.
These professionals deserve more respect and better compensation; they have earned it year after year.
Beware resorts; you are creating a growing problem which, some day, is going to bite you when you least expect it. Think of what it will cost you then. Think about your clients and what they will say. Have respect for the product you put on the snow and look to the long term opportunities that come from having a staff that is excited about working for you.
I recently read where a prominent eastern resort was sold for $82 million in cash, with an additional $50 million being due on a 40 year note. Please don't claim that you cannot afford to pay your teaching professionals appropriately or that you cannot afford to provide health care coverage. The facts say otherwise.
Think resorts, THINK. It won't hurt to do so.
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