Yea!  6th form exams are over, results are due in, so now is the ideal time to plan a productive gap year programme which will provide life skills, work experience and  guaranteed employment during university holidays, all of which will enhance the quality of students' CVs.

Specialist family ski operator (www.powderbyrne.com) runs the ultimate skiing gap year programme, Piste2Profession (P2P), for school  leavers.  The programme www.powderbyrne.com/p2p , operates in Flims, Switzerland and offers students the opportunity to learn a new skill with employment opportunities at the end of it.  This is far more than just a course to get your BASI ski instructors qualification, it is a full season (18 weeks) course involving ski instructor courses,  work experience and employment opportunities with the Swiss Ski School & Powder Byrne.  Key elements of the package include:

• Ski Instructors course with Flims/Laax Ski School – BASI Level 1 and BASI Level 2, with additional local ski instructors course (required to work for the local ski school)
• Child-specific ski instructors course
• Powder skiing and avalanche awareness course
• Ski school instructing – students have to complete a number of hours actual ski instructing to gain their BASI qualification.

Benefits of the Powder Byrne P2P skiing gap year programme vs others that are offered are:

• Students obtain valuable work experience as well as gaining their instructor qualifications:   
  • Tour operator work experience – they will join Powder Byrne professionals for selected weeks in the season.  This to include helping  run children's ski programmes, ski guiding, childcare in hotels, and learning what it takes to deliver the premium in-resort service that Powder Byrne offers to its clients.
  • Ski rental/ski technician work experience – working in the largest ski rental shop in the resort
  • Ski patrol shadowing

• Students have guaranteed employment opportunities in the future:
  • This programme is run in conjunction with the Swiss Ski School in Flims, which guarantees employment for P2P students who gain their ski instructor qualifications with Flims Ski School - which is, of course, very handy during university holidays.  A number of our P2P candidates go on to work full seasons at FlimsSkiSchool or during school holiday periods.
  • In addition, although not guaranteed, if candidates prove their capabilities while undertaking their tour operator work experience, this will stand them in very good stead if they wish to apply to work for Powder Byrne in resort or in London in the future.

• Limited number of candidates on each course – maximum number of students on each course is 10.  Other courses tend to be much larger, with far less individual attention.

The course costs £8,500 which includes 18 week course, return flights and transfers, accommodation, travel insurance, ski instructors insurance, ski school and Powder Byrne kit, ski and boot rental and all CRB and work permit costs.  Personal discounts on and off the mountain applicable. 

Full details of Powder Byrne's Piste2Profession Gap Year programme can be found on www.powderbyrne.com/p2p

Polo Gap Year Programme

For those interested in continuing to gain new skills during their gap year in the summer season, Powder Byrne also offer a 'Fast Track to Polo' programme for gap year students.  This is a 10 week course based at Powder Byrne's Polo operation at Sotogrande in Spain – Polo Valley.

This is a course suitable for complete beginners or experienced players wanting to spend the summer improving their polo skills.  Full horsemanship training is very much part of the course, and candidates will spend time with equine veterinarians and farriers, as well as learning how to play polo.  Partakers will also spend an hour a day having Spanish lessons, with plenty of opportunity to integrate with Spanish speaking staff at PoloValley.  For more information call 020 8246 5300.

Powder Byrne Media Contact:  Jenny Trevor               

Tel: 020 8246 5300

Email:  jenny@powderbyrne.com

Website:  www.powderbyrne.com

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Notes to editors:

Powder Byrne was founded in 1985 by Rory Byrne. In 1988 Powder Byrne became the first operator to specialise in corporate ski weekends, offering companies complete flexibility of travel dates and event arrangements.  In 1989 Rory Byrne won The Independent's Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 1994 the decision was made to specialise exclusively in high service hotel-based holidays and Powder Byrne now offer a range of exclusive ski destinations across the Alps and Dolomites. In 1995 a Summer Resorts programme was added and in 2009 Air and Space was created providing soft adventure experiences for families.