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2)

hands-on course covers aspects of food preparation
and safety considerations. During the course the
students prepare lunch in the college cafeteria, learn
how to create “eye appeal” in food preparation and
prepare food for an event.

SROM 256 - SKI AREA BUDGETING
AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

The material covered in Ski Area Budgeting and
Business Management will introduce students to
the analysis of financial data for a standard Income
Statement and Balance Sheet. Financial ratios that
are normally used to predict the business health of
a ski resort will be covered. Using CVP numerical
analysis, students will learn the impact of future
proposed financial changes on the fiscal health of
a ski resort’s finances. Problem solving will help
students to understand these financial concepts.
Creation of budget templates for “wages and
salaries”, and “departmental contribution margin”
will round out the course content.

SROM 257 - SKI RETAIL/RENTAL
SHOP MANAGEMENT

Students will be introduced to the practical aspects of
ski and snowboard rental shop operations. The layout
and design of rental shops now must accommodate

a wide range of rental equipment including: shaped
skis, snowboarding equipment, demos, and other
sliding devices such as snow-bikes. Equipment
purchase, rotation and disposal of aging rental
equipment, and inventory control will be studied.
Rental agreements, the CWSAA rental waiver, and
liability issues will be discussed. The maintenance of
rental equipment and the importance of good record
keeping will be emphasized. Finally, repair shop
operations as a satellite operation of the rental shop
will round out the topics of discussion. Students will
complete a Rental Shop Design project to enhance
their knowledge of effective rental shop layout, flow,
and balance.

For the second half of this course, students will be
given an overview of retailing and how ski resort
retail shops have become an integral revenue centre
in today’s ski resort operations. The following retail
topics will be discussed including: buying cycle,
customer service and selling, shop layout, and
product merchandising. Pricing, the basis for mark-
up, and discounting as related to retail shop financial
performance will be studied. Guest speakers from
local ski or snowboard retail operations will present
content on current industry trends and successful
retail strategies. Students will carry out a critical
analysis of a local sports retail shop to enhance
their knowledge of store layout, merchandising, and
in-store security.

216 Selkirk College Academic Calendar 2019-20

SKI RESORT OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

SROM 258 - HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

As labour markets tighten around the globe, good
human resources management is essential to
attracting and retaining effective staff. This is
particularly true in seasonal resorts and ski areas
where the link between staff and the guest is so
critical. Innovative approaches to human resources
management are necessary to recruit and retain the
right people in the industry. In this course you will
focus on the critical issues that concern managers
in the tourism industry: human resource planning,
recruitment and selection, orientation, training

and development, performance management and
progressive discipline, challenges and trends,
employment standards and labour relations.

SROM 272 - SUPERVISORY
SKI LIFT OPERATIONS

A continuation of SROM 172. Ski lift operational
considerations are the primary focus of this course.
You will learn about lift capacity, standard and
emergency operating procedures, lift operations
supervision, lift operator training, lift operations
budgeting, and lift operations human resources
management issues. You will also examine the

broad range of passenger ropeways available for
use in the ski industry, from simple rope tows to
technologically advanced multiple haul rope systems.
SROM 272 incorporates elements of LIFT 150 - Ski
Lift Operations Train-the-Trainer, a course created by
Selkirk College for lift operations personnel. Through
the LIFT 150 portion of the course you will have

the opportunity to earn the LIFT 150 certificate, a
credential required by the BC Safety Authority to train
lift operators in British Columbia.

SROM 280 - SKI AREA CONSTRUCTION
AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SROM 8280, Ski Area Construction and Project
Management builds on topics previously introduced
in three related courses: SROM 171, SROM 172,
and SROM 166. SROM 280 focuses on ski area
construction projects with trail construction and

lift installation receiving the most emphasis. As a
part of examining construction techniques and best
practices, students will study environmental impact
mitigation practices, including measures to reduce
impact on natural water courses. Students will
review government acts and regulations that affect
construction decisions around water courses. SROM
280 also reviews project planning techniques and
tools including Gantt Charts and PERT/CPM.

selkirk.ca/ski

SROM 288 - SKI RESORT
WINTER WORK TERM

Each student arranges work as a paid, full-time
employee at a ski resort. For certain students,

the employment may be at a cat-skiing operation,
heli-skiing operation or industry product and

service supplier. With assistance from ski program
instructors, a suitable work opportunity is arranged
commensurate with the experience and work term
goals of each student. Some resort operators recruit
second year students directly at Selkirk College.
Some resort operators organize a job rotation plan
that provides for a wide range of ski industry work
experience. A ski-program instructor visits the each
student in January or early February to assess
performance in conjunction with the student’s direct
supervisor. Each student returns to Selkirk College in
late April to do an oral presentation and complete a
written project on their work term experience.

SROM 290 - FIELD STUDY

This course consist of a five day credit bearing field
trip to visit ski areas. Although venues change from
year to year, this field trip normally includes a visit
to Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort. The purpose of
these visits is to talk with ski area managers and
supervisors, on location, about their operations and
to inspect those operations. These trips provide

an excellent opportunity for candid conversations
with ski industry personnel from general managers
to line staff, as well as an excellent opportunity to
examine facilities and equipment. Students have the
opportunity to engage in screening interviews with
resorts visited on this final major field trip.

LIFT 150 TRAIN THE TRAINER

This course was developed for ski lift operations
personnel under the direction of the Apprenticeship
and Training Committee of the Canada West Ski
Areas’ Association by the Ski Resort Operations
and Management Program at Selkirk College. LIFT
150 is the first step in developing an integrated,
standardized training program for ski industry
operating and maintenance personnel.

For a number of years, the regulatory authority for
passenger ropeways for the Province of British
Columbia has encouraged the development of formal
ski lift operator training programs at ski areas. The
need for standardized training for ski lift operators
was recommended by the coroner’s report on the
1995 Quicksilver chair lift accident. The intent of the
Apprenticeship and Training Committee is to provide
all ski area operators with high-quality, standardized
training programs.

For dates, duration and cost please visit selkirk.ca.

selkirk.ca/programs