To NOT pay for adult DD to go abroad?

[OllieRhys]

She's 22 and wants to do a volunteering program abroad (she's an unemployed graduate).

We can afford it (my husband and I) - it's £6,000 for 6 months.

She hasn't asked us, just expressed a huge interest. DH thinks we absolutely should pay for it. I personally think at 22 she should get a job and save.

Thanks.

I agree that this isn't going to impress an employer. It's a jolly.

£1000 a month though-what on earth is it doing?!

It really depends on what she will be doing. If she has studied biology / ecology and she is volunteering on a conservation project to map / record endangered species - maybe I would pay.
If she is going on a voluntourism holiday to teach people English or even worse to do work that local people should be paid to do; then I would be expecting her to pay.

It’s not about being able to afford
It

She is not in a financial position to volunteer tel her she has rent to pay and food to buy why are you funding her lifestyle my child 19 has worked along side his studies since 16

What skills will she be volunteering?
How will those skills benefit the locals?
Are there local people with those same skills? If so by going she will be putting them out of work, and probably doing a worse job of it.

So many of these volunteering schemes are of no benefit to local people and of very questionable benefit to the paying volunteer. The general rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't be qualified to do that type of work in your home country, you are probably doing more harm than good by doing that work in a foreign country - teaching English and building work being two common types of volunteering that fall into this category.

If she is qualified to do this sort of work in the UK, she should be doing it in the UK - at least that will help her to make some useful contacts in organisations that she might go and work for in the future.

These volunteering programs abroad are a bit of a con. Very little money gets to the folk who really need help. If she really wants to do this she should fund it herself. It's coming up to Christmas there are plenty of jobs she could step into and earn decent money.

It’s a middle class gap yeeeear

Tell her mc Donald’s always have work if she is unable to find work

I agree with Haffdonga employers can also see very clearly which “opportunities” have been provided by the bank of mum and dad and were not about your daughter’s own hard work, sacrifice and initiative.

I am in the US and our local very prestigious university does not give any credence or credit to amazing volunteer experiences abroad of high schoolers applying but they do flag applications when students have have a paid job of some kind. 1) Because it is an activity open to everyone irrespective of class or money and if you have kept grades up while working that is impressive 2) Often lower class kids need to work to help their families.

Employers and universities are not impressed by unearned privileges.

If it was us in that situation I would research the program and if it’s valuable to her career and cv then I’d offer to pay half if she can save the other 3k

At one point after I graduated I had 3 jobs. One full time and 2 part time and I didn't live with my parents. I saved my money. Now with the internet, the world seems to have got smaller and more accessible. I like to travel lots, but I work to pay for my holidays and hobbies.What effort is she putting into her short and long term plans ?

She hasn't asked us, just expressed a huge interest

Has she expressed an equal interest in how she might fund this, at least in part, herself? I wouldn’t personally entertain contributing unless there was some evidence that my 22 year old had considered this and had at least attempted to plan how they might do that.

I find the idea of paying £000s to travel abroad to volunteer a little ridiculous unless someone wants a hugely specialised job and has all of the relevant qualifications but no way at all to get the experience needed to be hired here in the UK. Hinting heavily in the hope of parental funding feels a bit disingenuous at 22.

@1981fishgut and @movablefeast well said.

Camp America costs £778.

Why is it costing £6000 when there are perfectly good programs which will cost her only travel? As in www.workaway.info/

It sounds exactly like one of the usual scams where the only real benefit is for the organisers. They big it up with claims about what it will do for your CV, but are actually only interested in their own profits

And why not a role in the UK? Especially given that the real volunteers elsewhere regularly report that "tourist volunteers" are more of a hindrance than a help?

What volunteering has she done in her own country ? ?

I'd contribute half the cost and make her pay the other half.

My DS raised £1500 himself to fund half an expensive school trip when he was 14-15.

My older (student) DS earned £900 for 3 weeks' work this summer. If she's living at home & not paying rent she should certainly be able to do that.

I think doing a 6m unpaid internship/volunteering position in a field she wants to get into would be FAR more useful. You could offer to not charge her rent or pay her travel for that period instead.

That would look far better on a CV than ‘mummy and daddy paid for me to go on a very long jolly abroad!’

It depends if it’s relevant to her degree, if it will actually help her get a job (maybe just because she will have to start looking after herself fully if she is abroad rather than at home where mum and ad are always round the corner) and most importantly if she would give it her best or just pay lip service to the volunteering ad treat it as a 6 months hols.

*my dd is 22- she graduated this summer and hasn't got a job yet- i don't think that's odd......

I think it's quite unusual. Most people will be working at least part time while searching for a grad job. Partly because long gaps in employment will not be seen favourably by most employers and partly because they want/need to take care of some of their own expenses and start saving.

What is it exactly?

Read up about voluntourism - and then have a think about whether what your DD wants to do is worth funding. This Guardian article is a very good illustration of why you and her need to consider carefully the implications of what she wants to do.

In many cases volunteering is harmful to the communities where it takes place. There are cases where schools use volunteers rather than employing local teachers because the volunteers are cheaper. It provides no consistency for the children, who have to put up with immature and unqualified "teachers" nor value for the community - which needs sustainable employment and economic growth.

As an employer I would also highlight that I am generally unimpressed with people's overseas volunteering experiences. It has no bearing on whether I'd consider them over another candidate. In fact I'd say that I would probably think better of someone that's volunteered on home turf because it shows a genuine interest in helping, rather than dressing up going travelling as an altruistic and selfless act.

Unless your DD is doing something like marine biology and her volunteering is something which is destination specific and relevant to her chosen career (I have a friend who specialised in climatology and spent time volunteering abroad in a weather project), then it's highly unlikely it's worth £6k. If she genuinely wants to help then drive to your nearest large town or city and there will be deprivation, poverty and homelessness right there which needs support.

I would be suggesting she investigate (cheaper) alternatives closer to home and have to agree with Linning.

Whatever the cost, your DD should start working and save up a good percentage herself.

I see that's it's relevant to a job she would like, which makes it more about what will look good on her cv rather than how effective she will be at improving the lives of others.

Has your DD ever had a job? Has she got any relevant experience relating to the area she wants to work in? What has she been doing while she is unemployed? Sorry for all the questions but I can’t see how paying so much money to volunteer abroad will help her career prospects unless it will lead directly to a well paid job immediately afterwards.

You would be better paying for some expert help from a graduate service.

As an employer I am not at all keen on these paid experiences at all. Obviously I don't know the field but I employ graduates and prefer evidence of initiative and good work ethic thru paid employment than paid for experience in our field.