Hi,

I'm in Canada on the IEC program at the moment (been here for almost four weeks), trying to decide what to do with my life going forward. My intention at the minute is to apply at ski resorts etc. to try and get work doing that over the winter, and also apply for a second IEC visa while I'm here. I'm hoping that along the way I can go down a PR route also, so I'm trying to decide what I want to do.

Before I left the UK I was hoping to get into some kind of emergency services work, so I am considering this as an option here if it is at all possible to go into as a non Canadian? Does anyone know anything about this kind of thing?

As I understand it, on the front line:

Fire - notoriously difficult to get into, even the volunteer side
Police - you need to be a Canadian citizen or PR
Ambulance - you need to study Paramedic medicine, for which you'll need a study permit and will pay overseas student costs

Happy to stand corrected on the above, and not sure about support roles.

Good luck.

Thanks for the response. That's pretty much what I thought it was as well, so you are probably right.

Do you know anything about Mountain Rescue type work?

If you're in Alberta - this is a good place to start.

J

I'm afraid not.

Cheers for that, having a look through now. I am in Vancouver at the moment but I am going to be applying to work in Banff and Jasper soon so I may be able to have a go at some of that.

Mountain rescue is nearly all volunteer AFAIK.

You could look at volunteering for ski patrol or GSAR, unlikely to help you with PR or getting into emergency services.
http://www.rockymountainrescue.org/index.php
http://www.nss-snrs.gc.ca/en/index.page


The biggest hurdle is being on an IEC. Training is extensive and expensive, so SAR teams are looking for long term commitments. Ski Patrol may be your best chance, depends on your skill level and experience.

https://www.csp-pcs.com/website/