Got snow on the brain? You can work in it all year long, finds Steve Hart
KEY POINTS:
Working in the tourism industry can't get any better than being able to follow your passion - especially if it is skiing.
For most of the year, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, operator of ski facilities at the Whakapapa and Turoa skifields, employs around 70 people. But once winter hits, that number bulges to around 800 people - from waiting staff and chefs to tradespeople, medical staff and ski instructors.
Finding all those people is the job of Jane McGechan, the company's HR manager. "I don't know how it happens, but every year everything comes right and we attract the people we need," she says.
"And we make sure everyone gets a place to stay and is settled in."
While New Zealanders fill many of the vacancies, plenty of people that work at the skifields are on holiday work visas from countries such as Britain, Canada and the US.
"Many come from Canada," says McGechan. "They travel to Australia and then come here for the skiing and to earn some money to continue their travels. It is good fun to work in a ski area for three to four months ... The backpacker grapevine works in our favour."
But working on skifields can mean an early start for some staff. McGechan says her firm's senior ski lift attendants are on site at 5am every day, staff that write the daily snow report get in at 6am and the remainder of the staff start arriving at 7am.
McGechan says many ski instructors move from country to country following the ski seasons. She says it can take years to become a qualified instructor, so people cutting out a career in the industry often have to travel to find work.
"Once they have finished here at the end of the season they may go back home to places such as Canada or the US - but they often stop off to top up their tan in Fiji," says McGechan.
And for those keen to learn how to become a ski instructor, the company offers a rookies' programme.
She describes each of its skifields as like a little city, considering the number of people involved to keep the business running smoothly.
McGechan says: "We have three shops selling all manner of clothing, there's two A&E medical centres and X-ray facilities manned by nurses, doctors and a radiologist, bus drivers, numerous cafes, there's a children's playcentre with trained staff, road attendants that keep the roads clear for traffic - the list goes on."
But the weather plays a big part in the staff's earning potential. No snow means no skiers and that can mean lower wages for some - especially freelance ski instructors waiting to be assigned to paying customers.
"Sometimes at the beginning of the season, when it hasn't snowed, our staff don't get as much in their pay packet as we'd like them to,"" says McGechan. "And that sort of thing can be a bit of an issue for them sometimes."
Fearing that bored staff may slope off to find alternative employment and not return when the snow falls, McGechan says they do their best to keep employees onboard with a range of free activities.
"The other day a coach-load of staff left here for a day trip to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves for a tour," says McGechan. "There was an option of blackwater rafting too.
"We organise buses so they can go to the cinema or shopping in Rotorua. We try and make it as easy as possible for staff because we know many of them don't have a lot of money at this time of year. And we don't want to lose them. We hear stories of South Island skifields laying off staff and think, `We can't do that' because people won't stick around."
When it comes to wages, McGechan says the ski industry has a "notorious reputation" for not paying well. But she says Ruapehu Alpine Lifts pays above the average.
"We travelled to North American ski resorts for about five weeks and found staff there quite poorly paid when compared to what we pay here,"" she says. "Staff in the US rely on customers tipping them to get their earnings up.
"We try and pay above peoples' expectations. But people will not earn as much here as they might doing other jobs in London or Auckland. Good staff that work hard here won't be on minimum wage for very long."
She says pay packets range from minimum wage to slightly above the median range for people with experience or specialist qualifications. But McGechan says the fringe benefits are a big drawcard.
Staff can have free access to the lifts and skifields, discounted lunches, help with ski lessons and discounted rental equipment. And with lift passes costing up to $83 a day (or $719 for a season ticket) the benefits can quickly add up.
And she says many staff form a strong relationship with ski areas and return every season.
"We have ski instructors that come to us from the Keystone skifields in Colorado," she says. "They'll work a season here and then return to Keystone and work a season there and then come back to us the year after.
"So you can work full-time in the ski industry if you are prepared to travel and follow the seasons."
Steve Hart is a freelance writer based in Auckland. Contact him at www.stevehart.co.nz
