Gap Year

Whether you're planning a career break or taking a year out after school, college or university, NONSTOP's programs will give you a rewarding and exciting experience with like-minded people.

At NONSTOP we pride ourselves on being able to offer the ultimate Gap Year experience. Our courses offer you the chance to live and travel in the Canadian Rockies, the South Island of New Zealand or Australia's East Coast. While there you can develope your skills, gain professional qualifications and make life-long friendships.

Our courses can make it possible for you to get qualified and then work as an instructor for the rest of the season, or just improve your surfing, skiing, snowboarding or mountain bike skills.

The benefits of a gap year

Develop new Skills - A gap year gives you a great opportunity to develop your non-school skills! No matter what your passion - photography, history of art, teaching or skiing - a gap year is the perfect time to become an expert in your chosen field.
Get qualified - Gaining qualifications may not be high up on your list of priorities when planning your gap year. However, if you can mix in a few-life time qualifications along the way, you never know when they may come in useful.
Make your CV stand out - This is where those new qualifications really help out. Imagine what it is like for an employer to have to read through hundreds of very similar CVs. If you can make your CV jump out and wake them up, you'll be on to a winner! "In my Gap Year I spent a winter in Canada where I qualified as a ski instructor and travelled around Southern Europe where I became fluent in Spanish..." - I think you’ve just been invited for an interview!
Increase confidence - We get lots of feedback from our seasonaires and from parents to say that a year out has greatly increased their and their child’s confidence and communication skills. This can only be positive – right? Training to become an instructor will increase your confidence as well as your leadership group management skills.
New outlook on life - Being stuck in school, university or even work with the same class mates and colleagues for years may not give you a particularly broad outlook on life. On your gap year you're bound to meet and mix with people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities. On our courses we tend to find that all ages mix socially and become good friends. Our past clients all agree that a mix can only improve your experience. We often see 18-year-old gappers, 23-year-old graduates and 35-year-old career breakers all out on the town together!
Universities & employers like them - UCAS state that "experience compliments education". Learning outside of the classroom is recognised as positive for future life? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity that will make you more interesting and improve future opportunities! Enough said.

Ski / Snowboard courses

Canada - 11 week ski/snowboard instructor course
This is our most popular course and is without doubt the ultimate Gap Year experience for mountain lovers. You'll spend at least three months living and travelling in the Canadian Rockies, become an awesome skier/snowboarder, gain instructor qualifications and make a bunch of new mates. Doing a season like this will be one of the best experiences of your life. We offer a choice of five world class resorts for you to spend your season in.
More info for skiers here
More info for snowboarders here
New Zealand - 10/14 week ski instructor course
Skiing in New Zealand is a totally unique ski and travel experience and one not to be missed. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the ideal place to enjoy skiing during the UK summer time. Plus, after gaining your NZ an instructor qualification, you can go straight on to work in the Northern Hemisphere. This ski instructor course is based in the club fields ski region on New Zealand's South Island, which boasts New Zealand's longest off-piste runs and has an average snowfall of 15ft.
More info here
Canada - 3 week ski/snowboarder instructor course
Based in Fernie, Banff and Whistler, this course will build your skills with focused coaching, in preparation for the Level 1 instructor qualification. By arranging a student work visa before-hand you could get a job after the course and spend the whole season earning as an instructor.
More info for skiers here
More info for snowboarders here
Canada - 6 Week 'Master the Mountain' course
Our six week ‘Master the Mountain’ course is will push your skiing and snowboarding, both on and off piste. The main focus is to ensure you can tackle anything the mountain throws at you with confidence and style. This course is mostly aimed at intermediate to advanced skiers/snowboarders.
More info for skiers here
More info for snowboarders here

NONSTOP Snow Participants

Here are a few of our participants talking about their expereinces on our ski and snowboard courses.

Surf courses

Australia - 4 week surf instructor / lifeguard / pro waterman
Our 4 weeks surf courses are a perfect addition to your Australian travels. With demanding and top-quality instruction, our course aim to prepare you for the surf and lifeguarding industry, so that you can continue by working in Australia or beaches around the world. Based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and the world famous Gold Coast in Queensland, there can't be a better place to become an instructor or lifeguard!
More info here

Mountain Bike courses

Fernie, Canada - Spend four weeks (five if you include our road trip) in the warm, sunny climate of British Columbia. Receive professional coaching and develop your mountain bike skills to instructor level. Immerse yourself in the sport you love, become the rider you want to be, and make a bunch of great new friends.
More info here.

Useful Links

The Year Out Group

The Year Our Group are a UK organisation that represents respected and proven course providers. Their site has useful gap information, including advice on what questions to ask companies and considerations for university applications.

BUNAC

This is a great source of information for working visas in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Visas obtained via BUNAC are unique in that they allow you to work without a previous job offer. You can obtain student working visas in your gap year and many of our clients secure BUNAC visas to instruct after our courses.

Go Gap Year

Go Gap Year is a government website with loads of usefull information about planning and preparing for your gap year.