Andorran Ski Instructors Face Uncertain Future Amid Low Pay and Exodus

Carles Iriarte, president of the Andorran Ski Instructors Association (AAME), has warned that the profession faces no future in the country, with young entrants quickly leaving for better opportunities abroad.

In remarks to RTVA ahead of the association's ordinary general assembly for the 2025-2026 season, Iriarte said the job is no longer worthwhile compared to other more reliable and rewarding careers. He pointed to stagnant demands for improvements that have persisted for 20 years, including low pay around the minimum wage and insufficient hours due to oversized staffing lists, which prevent meaningful monthly earnings.

While some salary bumps have occurred—"otherwise no one would come, even from the other side of the world"—they do not make the role sustainable, Iriarte noted. Authorities show little support, preferring to hire foreign instructors who avoid Andorra's year-round housing crisis.

New members, including those trained at the EFPEM school, often join AAME only to secure international certification before seeking work elsewhere with superior conditions, he added. Long-standing issues endure, such as labour contract violations and the failure to supply personal protective equipment or other materials.

Iriarte also criticised the education ministry's handling of calls to restore the Andorran technique in school ski programmes. Rather than backing it, officials removed the requirement from the relevant decree, permitting any training style. Pedagogical guidelines shift abruptly—"from one year to the next, or even day to day"—leaving some pupils with three, four or five different instructors over a single school ski week.