Working Holiday Programs

I did some research a while ago and thought I'd share this gem that I found (Hoping that I still remember correctly)

Working Holiday Program

SWAP


Basically, it offers young adults aged 18-30 to travel and work abroad at the same time. Many countries offer Working Holidays or a similar program, usually for a duration from 6 months to 2 years. During that time, you can get a job to help offset some of the cost, but you must work no more than half the time that you will be spending there (ie: If you are going to Australia for one year, the amount of hours that you work can accumulate to no more than six months).

There were a lot of sites that I went through, but unfortunately I didn't bother bookmarking them. But go on Google and look up "working holiday visa", "youth travel abroad", or similar keywords and I'm sure you'll find lots of information. Each country has specific requirements, but they aren't too hard to fulfill.

I think this is a great program to encourage travel and cultural exchange between countries. There are also many travel agencies who will help you get set-up with your visa and paperwork, as well as offer discount airfare and travel for students. I also think this is a great alternative rather than just going to school, studying, working, and cramming. Take a year off and just go traveling. I'm sure you will learn many things than you can't learn by sitting in a lecture hall in school.

As for me, I'll be on the first plane to Europe as soon as I get my Red Seal certificate.

A Red Seal certificate? I know it's a certification for the trades, but are you waiting for the Red Seal before you travel because the red seal is internationally recognized?

No, the Red Seal is only Inter-provincial and is not recognized internationally. However, it still proves that you are a qualified journeyman in that trade. As with any other job, it's always better to have papers and certificates to show that you have a certain level of experience.

Hmmm. SWAP has offices almost everywhere. You're bound to see them at career/volunteer exhibits on university campuses (both UBC and SFU). I think SWAP is less of a "program" in the sense that it has no structure, or much of an application process at all. http://www.international.gc.ca/culture/123go/descriptions-en.asp Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has some very general guidelines about services like SWAP and opportunities to work/study/volunteer abroad.

My only criticism with DFAIT's website and SWAP is that their descriptions can be misleading. SWAP is great, but the caveat is beware that they are only here to guide you along and will not directly give you a working visa or a job in the selected country. Essentially the problem with DFAIT is the same. They give you the idea, but then give you very little to work with. Often times they just link websites of co-op programs at UVic or UBC as their "description" of a working abroad program. My advice is read guidelines carefully and look more to the source of the company doing the hiring instead of agency websites, be willing to do the research yourself, and save a few bucks instead of handling it over to the agency.

Working holidays are a great option to experience life in another country! I know many people who have/are in a different country working on one, and they all love it.

The only thing I'd warn people about who are hoping to travel on this type of visa, is that you really can only go for ONE year. There is no option to extend it, and the only other option is to find a company willing to sponsor you for a working visa. In some countries, like Canada, this can be somewhat easily done. However many countries, like Japan, are very strict about the rules-I had a friend who managed to get a company to sponsor her but her application was still denied because she didn't have a university degree. You could always extend your stay by getting a student visa, however you normally aren't allowed to work on one.

Just some food for thought!