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Mountainwatch |
Press Release
Thursday February 25: The Ski Area Association of New Zealand (SAANZ) is encouraging New Zealanders to consider taking their OE (overseas experience) in a mountain town this winter, working for one of the country’s 27 ski areas.
With the 2021 ski season fast approaching, the industry estimates they will be short by some 1200 seasonal workers, so are calling on Kiwis to fill the gap.
Historically the industry’s workforce has been 50% New Zealanders and 50% internationals.
In the 2020 season, border closures prevented many businesses from obtaining key staff resulting in ski areas being under-staffed and unable to open all parts of their business, while some smaller club fields were unable to open at all.
Some smaller club fields were unable to open at all. NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson said he expected the 2021 ski season to be similar to last year, with very busy times in the school holidays but a very quick drop in demand as New Zealanders returned to work.
Supplied About 3000 workers were employed across New Zealand ski areas in 2020. Revenue for the company, which owns and operates the Coronet Peak, Remarkables and Mt Hutt ski areas, was down between 40 and 50 per cent compared to winter 2019. Ski areas were planning for all scenarios this year, including bringing in more staff from Australia to cope with an anticipated influx of visitors if Australian borders with New Zealand opened, he said.