Recruitment Overview  – working for YSE

Please read this overview which gives a description of working for YSE in Val d’Isère.

We have 18 chalets in Val d’Isère – more than any of our competitors – but we are still a small company. We recruit our staff carefully and train them thoroughly. All YSE employees have two days off each week and our wages are some of the best in the business.

People apply to work in Val d’Isère with YSE because they want to ski almost every day for five months on some of the best slopes in the world. When working for YSE you can do this on six days of every week. You don’t have to be a good skier, but it helps to be a fairly sporty outdoors sort of person to get the most out of a season in the Alps.

Most of all we’re looking for staff who are charming, efficient, have a “can-do” approach, enjoy meeting people, smile a lot and want their guests to have wonderful holidays. If you have ‘attitude’ and don’t have the traits just mentioned, please do not apply to work for YSE!

We welcome applications from those holding one or more of the following passports: UK, EU, Australia and New Zealand. Please ensure you include all the passports you hold on your application form.

UK Passport holders will be required to obtain and pay for a French Working Visa (when we have received their French Work Permit). We will help with your visa application.

Those from New Zealand and Australia will have to obtain a French Young Traveller Working/Holiday visa. We will help you do this.

Applicants under 21 years old need to show exceptional maturity and have experience of living away from home in rented accommodation (not school), dealing with a landlord and tricky clients, carrying out minor repairs and cleaning well enough to get a hefty deposit back. It is extremely rare for YSE to employ anyone under 21.

We also rarely take applicants who have completed a season for another company.

YSE staff are also provided with accommodation, food whilst working*, a ski pass for the Val d’Isère/Tignes ski area, medical and third party liability insurance, certain items of uniform clothing and the use of ski boots, skis and poles (or snowboard – for a fee). YSE will pay a contribution to your travel out and your travel back to the UK at the end of the completed season (ie. not if you leave early).

*We cannot cater for those requiring a gluten-free/nut-free/lactose-free/vegan diet.

You must be available to work for the whole winter season from mid/end November 2026 until the end of the first week in May 2027.

All staff will have to pay a deposit of £500 (£150 on signing the contract and £350 in November) which will only be returned at the end of a successfully completed season and when your staff accommodation has been returned to the owner in the state in which you received it. The deposit will not be returned, under any circumstances, if you leave our employment before the end of the first week in May 2027 or don’t start working for us.

Please only apply if you are genuinely interested in working with YSE and able to commit to the position. We ask that you don’t use a role with YSE simply as an option while continuing to look for other permanent positions. If you decide to withdraw after accepting a place, the £150 part of the deposit will be non-refundable, and it may also mean that another applicant misses out on the opportunity. We need applicants who are committed to working for YSE.

We will not consider applications without a photo and please do not use any form of AI to complete your application – it is very obvious when this is done!

Competition for positions with YSE is very strong (we receive over 700 applications every year for the 42 positions available) and if you do not follow the correct instructions for submitting your application, you are unlikely to be selected for interview.

We realise that it takes a while to fill in our form and urge you not to do this or apply to YSE unless you are willing to work hard and have no reason to believe you cannot undertake the work involved. You may be working alone and on your feet for most of the day. Temperatures in Val d’Isère can get down to below -20ºC which can affect breathing and skin conditions.

Please note that we do not pay travelling expenses for attending an interview although we can offer interviews via Zoom. 

Finally, there is very useful feedback from our 2025-26 staff on the Staff Reviews page.

Please read the description of the position you wish to apply for before completing the form.