PSIC v CSIA: Becoming Certified In Canada

What Is The PSIC.

The Professional Ski Instructors of Canada (PSIC) launched in 2023. It was set up by people who knew the CSIA from the inside. One of its founders, Perry Schmunk, was the CSIA's former managing director, and Mark Sedgwick is its president and co-founder.

It's worth knowing what kind of organisation it is. The PSIC describes itself as a start-up corporation, so it's a private company, where the CSIA is a not-for-profit run by an elected board. That doesn't make one better than the other, but it's a different set-up.

The PSIC's pitch is a more modern way of training, built with the ski areas. Its steering committee is made up of ski area owners, managers and snow school directors, from places like Whistler Blackcomb, Fernie and Norquay. It also licenses its system to a European partner, the PSIE, which runs courses in Europe.

When I sat down with the PSIC's team last winter to plan their Big Mountain Pathway in Revelstoke, the thing that came through was that it exists because ski schools asked for it. They wanted instructors who could teach confidently in steep, ungroomed terrain, and nobody was training them for it.

What Is The CSIA.

The Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance (CSIA) is the older, established body. It was founded in 1938, it's a not-for-profit, and it had 21,817 members at the end of the 2025/26 season.

It's also Canada's member of the International Ski Instructors Association (ISIA), which matters if you want to work abroad later. There's more on how its four levels work in our guide to the CSIA, and every other body, from BASI to NZSIA, is on our ski and snowboard instructor qualifications page.

How Do The PSIC And CSIA Levels Compare.

On paper they look alike. Both have four levels, and both start with a three-day Level 1 for skiers aged 14 and over. The differences show up from Level 2.

Which One Is Recognised Abroad.

This is the part that matters most if you might want to teach in Europe, Japan or New Zealand one day.

The International Ski Instructors Association (ISIA) links the national instructor bodies around the world. The CSIA is its only Canadian member. The ISIA has said it won't recognise any other Canadian association, and it names the PSIC. In June 2026 the CSIA reported that ISIA members had backed a statement saying they don't recognise the PSIC, or its European partner, as a certifying body.

The PSIC sees it differently. It says it recognises everyone else's qualifications, and that it's up to each ski area which systems it accepts. That's true for jobs in Canada. But abroad, the ISIA Stamp is the international standard, and you can only get it through the CSIA, at Level 3 or higher.

So if working abroad is on your list, the CSIA is the route that travels. Our post on whether instructor qualifications are recognised internationally goes into more detail.

Which One Do Canadian Ski Schools Use.

Each ski school chooses, and the picture is mixed.

Whistler Blackcomb runs courses for both. Panorama runs PSIC Level 1, Level 2 and Big Mountain courses alongside the CSIA, and lists both as recognised Canadian bodies. Mount Washington runs PSIC Level 1. Revelstoke, Sun Peaks and Big White list CSIA Level 1 on their own snow school pages, and no PSIC courses.

Before you book any course, check which qualification your target ski school hires. If you don't know yet where you'll end up, the CSIA is the one every school in our network accepts.

Can You Switch From One To The Other.

Partly. If you hold a CSIA level, the PSIC lets you join its training at the matching level. It doesn't hand you its certificate, though. You still go through its course.

Going the other way, I couldn't find any credit from the CSIA for PSIC levels, and the CSIA's own statement calls it the only recognised certifying body in Canada.

You can hold both. The PSIC says its members can keep their memberships elsewhere, and plenty of instructors work for schools that use either. Just don't expect one to count towards the other.

Which One Do We Train You For.

We train you for the CSIA. Every ski course and internship we run in Canada finishes with CSIA exams. That's the qualification every ski school we place people with accepts, and it keeps the ISIA route open for later.

For every course in one place, with dates and prices, see our ski instructor courses in Canada. If you'd rather work a paid season as you train, our ski instructor internships in Canada pair CSIA training with a snow school job.

Can You Do The PSIC Big Mountain Pathway With Us.

Yes. It runs in Revelstoke as a five-day bolt-on. It's the PSIC's stream for teaching in steep, ungroomed terrain, so powder, trees and double blacks, and it sits at a similar level to CSIA Level 2 with big mountain skiing and safety on top.

You can add it to two of our courses: in week 10 of our off piste ski course in Revelstoke, or to the 13 week Super Instructor edition of our Level 1 and 2 ski instructor course in Revelstoke.

You join with Level 1. The PSIC's normal rule is that instructors from other systems need Level 2. They let our trainees in at Level 1 because by the time the pathway runs, you've spent around ten weeks skiing Revelstoke and you're a strong off piste skier. That's also why it runs late in the season, when your skiing is at its best.

Be clear about what it gets you. It's the first step on a professional pathway, not the finish line. Straight after, the work it opens up is mostly ski school products like steep skiing clinics. Coaching freeride teams usually takes years more experience and higher levels.