Employment at Coastal Bliss Adventures

How are we different than many other wilderness tourism companies?

Our guides are employees, not contractors. Employed guides are insured, for both liability and for Workers' Compensation. Employed guides have employer paid CPP and EI contributions, contractors do not-they have to pay it all themselves. The fact is, employed guides are paid better than contract guides.

Stated wage rate (daily wage rates)	Real wage rate-employed (with employer paid benefits, EI and CPP, and vacation pay)	Real wage rate-contractor (paying out employer portion of CPP as self-employed, no vacation pay)
$180	$202.09	$169.29
$200	$224.54	$188.10
$225	$252.61	$211.61
$250	$280.68	$235.13
$275	$308.74	$258.64
$300	$336.81	$282.15
$325	$364.88	$305.66

Employed guides have much of their gear supplied, contractors have to have their own gear, at a considerable cost.
Sea to Sky Expeditions and its sister company, Coastal Bliss Adventures, have a wide variety of tours, giving their guides the opportunity to grow through many experiences, and a bigger guide community.
We provide essential training and advancement opportunities.
We have a structured employment approach, so you know where you stand, and how you can advance.

Who We Hire

We hire people that really want to work outdoors and have a sense of purpose. We really look for the following qualities:
✔ Confident with people, easy with a conversation.
✔ Interested in people and want to lead them to a deeper, restorative experience of the outdoors.
✔ Proactive to take care of problems and to find solutions with few resources.
✔ Loves to learn and pick up new skills.
✔ Has a real and driving reason to be a guide.
✔ Is looking for mutual commitment for the future.
We have hired guides with little or no qualification, just experience outdoors and a real reason to guide. Of course, that is a rare find, but not being a fully qualified guide does not prevent you from working for us. We want our guides to work our season, which runs from mid-May into October.

Qualifications

We do multiple activities, so guides that have broader experience and qualifications are better suited to what we do, particularly for full-time work.
Qualifications We Look For:
❤ Wilderness First Aid(40-50 Hour) Certification with CPR-C
❤❤ SKGABC AOG or Level 2 Guide Certification
❤❤ Advanced Wilderness First Aid (80-90 Hour) Certification
❤❤ Class 4 Unrestricted Commercial Driving License
❤❤✚ Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Assistant/Full Hiking Guide Certification
❤❤✚ SKGABC Level 3 Guide Certification
❤❤✚ Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training (COLT)
❤❤✚ Canoeing Instructor Certification
There are some obvious overlaps in the listed certifications that we love to see. Certifications do not guarantee anyone a lead guide position. That comes with experience and trust. What we really look for on top of certifications is:
❤❤❤ Lots of experience outdoors and demonstrable experience leading and taking responsibility for others.

What Working With Us Looks Like

We have multiple tasks that must get done to serve our clients every day. Rarely do we have any staff member that focuses on one activity only. The people we hire full-time will be doing all of the following over the course of the season, depending on qualifications:
➫ Prepping food and gear for multi-day hiking and kayaking tours
➫ Assisting on multi-day hiking or kayaking tours
➫ Driving clients to activities
➫ Creating posts and marketing materials
➫ Cleaning and maintaining gear and premises
➫ If fully trained and qualified, lead multi-day hiking or kayaking tours
We have qualification levels that we call Guide & Outfitter I, II, III, IV, V, VI,VII, VIII, IX or X (GO-I through X). We also have Technical Operations positions III or IV (TECHOPS-III or IV). Responsibilities and advancement are based on these levels. Sea to Sky Expeditions is strictly an expedition company. We require qualifed and experienced guides.

We will also need guides for our sister company, Sea to Sky Expeditions, which provides tours in on Vancouver Island, the BC mainland, and in the Yukon. Together, our guides have unsurpassed opportunities for variety in guiding.

Details of employment, our positions and pay scales can be seen here.

Jobs

For the 2026 season, we are looking to fill the following positions:
☑ Operations Technician 1, 2 (TECHOPS-III, IV)
☑ Administrative Technician 1, 2 (TECHOPS-III, IV)
☑ Guides: GO IV through GO-X (SKGABC AOG, Level 2 and 3, ACMG, COLT, specific college certifications).

How to apply for a guiding job:
Send a cover letter or cover email with the following:
☑ What your main interest is
☑ An explanation of how your qualifications fit the job you are seeking
☑ When you can be available for the season, beginning and end

Attach a resume that includes the following information:
☑ A list of all your relevant guide/outdoor skill certifications, including the certifying body and a link
☑ A complete list of guiding work experience with details. Details should include:
     ✚ a list of multiday commercial trips for each employer
     ✚ locations of each trip
     ✚ number of days of each trip and dates
     ✚ your role as lead guide, assistant guide, or other
     ✚ your supervisor/lead guide that can confirm your role
☑ A complete list of personal trips you have taken to show location experience, including (not necessary if you have been a lead guide for more than one season):
     ✚ locations of each trip
     ✚ number of days of each trip
     ✚ the group size you were with and your role
☑ Please include the other, more traditional resume items, such as other work experience and interests, languages spoken, etc.

Resumes that do not include the required details may not be considered.