Where to Go For Your Co-op and How to Choose What's Right For You

A large draw to the Ski Resort Operations program is the fact that it offers full winter co-op. Students have the opportunity to work at any resort they want and learn valuable information about the industry, all while getting paid for it.

It is mandatory for students to go on these co-ops as well as, with the help of a very useful co-op department, set up the job themselves. Students can apply for any job in the industry and have a good chance at getting said job because the ski resort operations program is widely recognized as a supplier of enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and reliable employees. Furthermore, the coarse is so widely known that both Whistler and Aspen come to use, here at Georgian college, to recruit workers each winter.

With the work force so easy to break into for Ski Resort Operations students, the most important thing becomes what the student wants to get as his/her job.

When trying to decide what job to apply for it is critical to look at yourself and try to get a feeling of where you want to be in the industry in the future. If you want to be head of ski school at Whistler, then your going to want to get a job as a ski instructor at Whistler. If you want to be a lift supervisor, then your going to want to be a lift operator or a mechanic. So on and so forth.

The trouble comes when the co-op applicant does not know what they would like to do in the ski industry. This is when it become crucial to prob the resorts for what is best for you.

At some resorts, predominantly small resorts, there are programs where you get the opportunity to work in several different departments over the course of the winter. These programs take some time to find as you have to contact many different resorts in order to narrow down which resort offer such a program. (2 resorts I have found that offer such programs are Mount St. Louis Moonstone, ONT. and Vista Ridge, AB)

So before you begin to apply for your co-ops it is recommended that you take a look at where you want to be in the industry and choose smart jobs to support that dream.