Launching the Next Generation of Industry Professionals: SIA Certification Gets Careers Off to a Great Start

It’s no secret that the snow sports industry is changing at lightning speed these days. Online retailing has accelerated, big box stores are growing, and the climate is changing faster than anyone anticipated. Specialty retailers often feel caught in the middle between changing consumer behavior and the manufacturers’ need to keep up. Marketers are wondering how best to communicate in this new era. In order for the industry to thrive, it is more important than ever for the next generation of snow sports industry professionals to be well trained, and to understand all aspects of the industry.

At the 2016 SIA Snow Show, Colorado Mountain College congratulated the newest crop of SIA Certificate earners, who represent the industry’s next generation of knowledgeable professionals, and are uniquely trained to handle this new era. The SIA Certification program at CMC prepares students for the industry in a holistic way, training them and testing them rigorously on all aspects of the business. SIA and the industry have worked with CMC to develop the curriculum and give students the opportunity to learn the industry from every angle. The certification tests include Marketing, Sales Rep, Retail Sales and Retail Sales Management.

L to R: SIA President Nick Sargent with CMC SIA Certificate recipients Daniel Buri, Hazel Chorney and Jordan Thomas and CMC Ski and Snowboard Business Program Director Michael Martin.

“With SIA and industry partners, we came up with what the test needs to cover, and at the end of the semester when they take the certification test, they need to achieve a certain score to get the certification,” said Michael Martin, CMC’s Ski and Snowboard Business Program Director. “The tests include Marketing, Sales Rep, Retail Sales and Retail Sales Management, and they are very difficult because we wanted them to set a benchmark. Students can put this on their resume that they got their SIA certification, and employers will know they’re getting the best of the best.”

CMC student Hazel Chorney said the SIA Certification has been a great experience for her, and helped her get an internship with Smokin’ Snowboards. “It’s been great to be here at the Show. It’s been a good experience working with Jay, the owner of Smokin’ Snowboards, and meeting so many influential people in the industry. I’m hoping to go on to a 4-year engineering school and learn how to build snowboards. All of the business classes I took at CMC have been a great foundation for that, and Mike and Tim, the program directors, are awesome so it’s been an incredible experience,” she said.

CMC Student Hazel Chorney is interning at Smokin’ Snowboards while enrolled in the SIA Certification program

CMC student Daniel Buri is in his second year interning for Amer Sports while earning his associates degree at CMC. “I just got the SIA retail employee certification,” he said. “My dream is to work for a ski company and be a sales rep, so that’s the next certification I’m enrolled in. I chose this degree because it’s so applicable to my goals. The professors are extremely knowledgeable, and it’s been a great experience. I feel like I could never have gotten so much industry knowledge and this opportunity to be here interning with Atomic if it weren’t for them.”

                                                                     
SIA President Nick Sargent congratulates CMC student Daniel Buri on his SIA Certification for Retail Sales.

The Ski and Snowboard Business degree at CMC has afforded many students intern opportunities to learn from experience within the industry. Currently, CMC students interning with SIA Members include:

Ashley Brovold, Never Summer; Austin Lutz, Phunksun; Beau Schecter, Salomon; Chase Boven, Tribe Snowboards; Cody Mertins, IFSA; Devin Miller, Wi-Me Snowboards; Eric Samuelson, Line; Hal Dean, Tech Nine; Hazel Chorney, Smokin Snowboards; Jake Nelson, Salomon; Jeremy Dorczuk, Smokin Snowboards; Jordan Rod, 540 Snowboards; Jordan Thomas, Colorado Mountain College; Michael Kochran, Never Summer; Nevin Weismman, K2; Will Morris, Powder Pursuits; Zak Blackburn, Salomon; Dan Buri, Atomic; Seth Smith, Smokin Snowboards

Congratulations to all the CMC SIA Certificate recipients! We wish these students luck in their future endeavors in the snow sports industry and look forward to their contributions to health of the industry in the years to come. For more information about the CMC SIA Certification program, go to the Colorado Mountain College website.