Gap years abroad that don't cost the earth but aren't just bumming around

[lechatnoir]

Any suggestions for gap year abroad that will foster independence, work ethic & generally help a lazy & disinterested teenager grown up a bit! He's not 100% set on Uni & results may prevent this unless he seriously ups his game but is applying and all being well will be allowed to defer and make a final decision whether he wants to go during his year out.

His plan is to work post Year 13 for a few months then 'go travelling' but when pushed, there is no plan beyond have the summer off & get a bar job! Left to his own devices he could easily waste a year watching Tiktok and hanging out with his mates so I'm keen to try and help find something a bit more constructive that involves working or volunteering abroad and hopefully lead to some sort of independent travel.

We suggested he could use his Child Trust Fund (c.£1,2k) towards flights/VISA and will cover vaccinations and insurance but the rest will be down to him to pay for so realistically some sort of hosted working holiday would be ideal - sports related a bonus but anything considered. Any suggestions or thoughts from parents of DC that took a gap year? Have looked at a couple of firms that organise working holidays and still reeling from the prices!

Camp America might suit: will appeal to sporty side, can incorporate some travel after working

Look at big travel companies who provide sports/entertainment at hotels? Contracts will be seasonal.

Ski season job? Up to 5 months Dec-Easter normally.

Please do not do anything involving orphanages, it is incredibly damaging to the children and unethical. In fact most ‘gap year’ experiences sold by those companies are highly unethical.

Lots of uk based charities will want help. He could travel after.

Are there any sports he is particularly good at? Does he have any coaching qualifications?

If he does he could look at doing a season with a company like Mark Warner, Nielsen, Club Med. Also places like PGL.

Working in the EU is tricky right now and many holiday companies hire local staff.

don’t get me started
but working holiday visas can be acquired for Australia and New Zealand and Canada. Working in ski resorts is a def possibility in Canada.

Yes he does coaching & has qualifications so seems a bit daft not to use them - Will suggest Camp America that's a good shout and look at the sports holiday places mentioned thank you.

Would not recommend ski seasons. I know a few people who lost two decades to that then never really settled.

When I went on my gap year I worked fir 5 months from September-January and then spent 5 months travelling from feb-jun. I think I saved about 5k from working. I bought an around the world ticket and set off with my friend. Could he do similar? Does he have any friends who he could go with?

i think DC should only have. “Gap year” if they have any plans to do anything in that year

pushing disinterested kids into volunteering positions is often not a success

some of my friends did this, and one boy was sent back from an orphanage in Asia due to doing nothing other than lying around and complaining about the lack of snacks. Another boy just left after a bit, went home and just stayed in his bedroom the rest of the year

I think it is as bad idea to push them into volunteering

they should either get a job or study or do an apprenticeship, or if they do a gap year they should have the get-up-and-go to then actually organise something themselves

Why not just come to NZ and work in a bar or cafe here. It's a real job and he can pay his way. We are desperate for bar and cafe workers..

My DS who luckily is a dual citizen & also has an EU passport did a year working on voluntary projects sponsored by the EU called EU Solidarity Corp part of EU youth.

he had an amazing time and was in Italy, Greece, Finland, Slovenia, Germany, Sicily and due to the EU funding travel & accommodation/ food is covered.

if a UK passport only might be limited in projects he can do but worth a look.

https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity_en

Backpacking in India. Cheap, very interesting, he’ll likely never quite be the same again :)

Friend's son is going harvest working in New Zealand, having done harvest work here after A levels. Hopes to do Camp America next summer too (sporty type)

Thanks @Eve will take a look.

I am however absolutely realistic about volunteering and would only pursue if he was very keen - paid work much more likely TBH although I can't ever imagine him flaking out lie some of the examples mentioned
Harvest picking or bar work in NZ whilst not enriching or necessarily fulfilling, will mean he is living independently and hopefully growing up a bit & not lying around at home with me ready to kill him !

Some great ideas plenty to look share with him. Thanks all.

agree.

Or Indonesia but go beyond Kuta to Java and Irian Jaya. totally different way of life, lovely people, physical adventure in trekking/scuba diving etc, fabulous cultural sites annd music, safe and unbelievably cheap.

I think independent travel on a tight budget somewhere very different is worth a lot more than organised pseudo-volunteering.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/whm-program/latest-news/arrangements-uk-passport-holders

3 years in Australia in a working holiday visa

$650. Flight out there $2000 I reckon

Tell him to go to a temping agency and tell them he can start tomorrow.

He'll have the time of his life.

Agreed.

Working in McDonald's for a few months made me very determined to go to Uni and work hard at getting a non-fast food related job...

I’d recommend Camp America or something similar; it sounds like he would benefit from a more structured experience than just going off exploring.

Definitely avoid any sort of ‘volunteering in a Kenyan orphanage/hospital’ type of paid experience as these are very white-savioury and generally not even helpful to the children and staff in those countries.

UK charities definitely don't want unqualified teenagers turning up to 'help' god forbid.

The only one of the schemes I would have recommended would be ICS which is reopening this year and backed by the FCDO. Might be worth a look. https://www.volunteerics.org/

My DS is doing a ski season. He has an EU passport and is fluent in Italian though. I've hear from other friends that it's much harder now if you don't have an EU passport.

He's got a place at uni deferred till next year so hope he doesn't lose 2 decades to it!

@massistar

who is the ski season with? DS2 is thinking of a ski season ( also EU passport & speaks reasonable Italian)

@Eve it's Interski. They do school and college trips to Italy. If he speaks French then I know someone else who's going to work for Skibound who do similar. He applied to a few, Crystal, Neilsen etc but this was the first one he got an interview for.