Are you looking for alternatives to post-secondary education or training? Are you still working out a career path? Do you want to explore the world or yourself? Travel meets all of these needs. By travelling, you have an opportunity to reflect on your goals while learning about the world, to gain self-reliance and learn how to interact with people
of other cultures. Combining volunteer or paid work with travel is one way of gaining valuable skills while
seeing other parts of the world. The sites listed in this section outline opportunities for travel and work experience in Canada and abroad.
Youth Challenge International
combines community development, health work and environmental research
in adventurous projects conducted by international teams of volunteers
aged 18-25 years. A worldwide network of Youth Challenge organizations
operates in Costa Rica, Australia, Guyana and South America.
CIDA International Youth Internships provides you with the opportunity to
participate in activities such as feasibility studies or impact assessments,
evaluation and monitoring in areas such as basic human needs, women in
development, infrastructure service, human rights, democratic development,
private sector development, and the environment.
Student Work Abroad Program enables Canadian college and university students (and non-students in some countries) to expand their overseas travel experience by living and working in another culture. SWAP operates working holiday programs in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. These arrangements allow for students to gain work visas enabling them to work at a variety of jobs for short periods of time.
In Young
Canada Works, the Department of Canadian Heritage -- working in partnership
with the private sector, and national and community organizations -- is
helping to create jobs for young Canadians. Jobs are located across the
country. Young Canada Works (YCW) has six components: four provide summer
placements for high school and post-secondary students; two make internships
available to college and university graduates.
Canada World Youth
programs provide young people with an opportunity to live with host families
and work as volunteers with community-based organizations, local institutions
or with small businesses. Some programs focus on community and economic
development, entrepreneurship, democratic development and active citizenship
or have specific themes such as environment, community development, entrepreneurship
training, or are tailored for a particular group (women, native peoples,
etc.). While they vary in form and in length, these programs usually call
for participants to live with host families and do volunteer work in an
area related to the program theme.
Are you interested in working overseas as an ‘au-pair’? JobMatch
is an automated job matching service for au-pairs and Families. You can
register free of charge and the organization will send your details to
matching families or au pairs.
