Gap Year
Why take a Gap Year, Year Out or Career Break?
Taking a gap year is a great opportunity to travel, broaden your horizons, gain new skills and qualifications, improve your CV and obtain practical work experience. For young people, it's an opportunity for independence, taking time out from years of study, and gives you more time to decide your future.
"A year out between school or college and higher education or employment or between higher education and a job, can give young people a valuable and challenging learning experience - provided that it is carefully planned. A well-structured year out can be part of the lifelong education process and can make a significant contribution to an individual's personal development. Employers and university staff increasingly attach importance to evidence of enterprise, maturity and sustained commitment both within and outside formal education."
- Year Out Group
What can you do on a gap year?
The options are pretty much endless, you can travel independently, teach abroad, volunteer abroad or in the UK on conservation or community projects, learn another language, learn an adventure sport like SCUBA diving, work in wildlife rehabilitation or at a children's orphanage, go on cultural exchanges, and/or take some time to earn money. Take a look at Frontier's A-Z of activities to see the kind of things we offer.
Gap Year Agencies
There are many benefits to deciding to do your placement with a gap year agency. They offer structured placements, particularly beneficial if you've decided you want to volunteer abroad, pre-departure orientation and in-country support, giving much-needed reassurance to your family and friends. They also offer you opportunities to be with other volunteers like yourself.
However, you must carefully consider the agencies available to make an informed decision. Placements can be costly and therefore you need to ensure you are getting value for money, and spending your money on something that will benefit you as well as the community in which you will spend your placement. Consider the type of agency - are they profit-making, non-profit or charity? Consider the placements they offer - are they what you are looking for? Do they have a good reputation? What are their achievements? How big are they and how long have they been established? What level of support do they offer, both in the UK and in the country of your placement? You must ensure that they have public liability insurance. How much does it cost - try shopping around as prices can vary enormously. Finally, what can they offer you!
You can find out Frontier's answers to these questions by looking at the sections under About Frontier.
"Choosing the organisation and activity most suited to the individual can be a difficult and time consuming task both for the young people and their teachers, advisers and parents. However, it is crucial to the success of a placement and even to the safety of participants that year out organisations are carefully researched before a place is accepted. This can take time and it is wise to start planning as far in advance as possible - in some cases as much as a year or more ahead of the start date."
- Year Out Group
Tips for your gap year
- Planning - start planning as early as possible, so you can find out about where you want to go, decide when you want to go, how you will raise the funds, and what you will do.
- Budgeting - as well as the cost of your placement, you generally have to consider the cost of flights, insurance, additional kit, pocket money, money for gifts and souvenirs, whether you will take cash or credit cards.
- Packing - you might need specialist kit for some activities, but remember to pack as little as possible as you need to be able to carry it!
- Attitude - be positive and respectful, and prepared to abide by the customs and culture of the land you are visiting, which may be very different to those you are used to.
- Safety - do your research on the places you are visiting, be aware of any risks, scams, and other problems that may have been identified, be careful and sensible, and remember to trust your instincts.
Fundraising for your gap year
This often seems like the most daunting aspect of taking a gap year, but it needn't be! Many of our volunteers raise some or all of the funds needed to participate on our projects. If you will be volunteering abroad, on a worthwhile project that will help the communities or wildlife in your chosen country, then many people will consider you to be a deserving cause. You can do sponsored activities, promotional events, write to grant-awarding charities and trusts, get sponsorship from local businesses, and the more creative you are, the more successful you're likely to be. All this looks great on your CV as well as the actual placement. Frontier gives all volunteers a fundraising pack to help them meet the costs of their expedition. Frontier is also unique in offering vocational academic BTEC qualifications, which makes volunteers eligible for the Career Development Loan.
Health & Safety on your gap year
This is a paramount aspect of your trip overseas, and something that is often overlooked. There is plenty of information available from the government, leaflets on travelling, health, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Know Before you Go. You need to discuss your fitness for certain activities - such as SCUBA diving or other adrenalin activities - with your doctor. You may need additional vaccinations or boosters, and some courses of vaccinations can take up to a month. You might need malaria prophylaxis and should discuss the best options with your doctor. You will need to take a comprehensive first aid kit with you. You will also need to think about water and food, as in many countries you should only drink bottled or treated water, and you might need to avoid certain foods which are prone to cause bacterial infections.
Frontier provides all volunteers with a comprehensive Health and Safety pack, with information on what to discuss with your doctor and what you should take in your medical kit.
Next Steps....
For more information on Frontier projects, have a browse around our website, come along to an Open Day or request a brochure. Find out what our current volunteers have to say by looking at the Volunteer Diaries for each project, or look at articles written by ex-volunteers, such as this China Panda Real Travel magazine article. Taking a gap year, year out or career break overseas does require a lot of thought and preparation, but it's well worth it and should always be a challenging, exciting, and productive experience!