What can I do?

Voluntary work offers a very broad and varied array of opportunities for those planning a gap year and with so many gap year organisations offering very similar placements it can be a daunting prospect trying to decide which is best for you.  First let’s look at what you can do and then explain how Year Out Group can help.  When you have read this page look at the more detailed planning advice to help you decide which program and which organization is best for you.

The four most popular voluntary work activities are:

Teaching

Teaching is a very popular gap year activity and is possibly the best way to integrate with a local community and a great way to see if a teaching career is for you.  Teaching covers a wide range of placements.  It is not necessary to have a qualification but a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) qualification helps, the more comprehensive the better.  Without a qualification there are hundreds of placements on offer as teaching assistants or helping with students outside the classroom especially if you have a skill such as music, art, drama or sport.  Some organisations specialise in placements for sports coaches.  These projects normally see volunteers placed in pairs or small groups but they may work independently.  Projects can last from a few weeks to a whole year, indeed the longer you stay the greater the benefit both for you and your students.

Care and health work

Those considering a career in the caring professions are encouraged by university admission tutors to gain some experience in the field and this is a great way to meet this requirement.  The projects range from work in orphanages, hospitals and medical centres to running HIV/AIDS awareness courses with those graduates with qualifications and experience being in particular demand.  The nature of these projects is similar to teaching projects from a working, accommodation and length of placement perspective.

Conservation Projects

Most people are concerned about the state of our planet and would like to do something to help rectify the situation.  Around the world there are thousands of charities and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) that run game and nature reserves or are conducting important research all of which rely on volunteers to support the team of scientists running the projects.  All these projects enable volunteers to pick up research skills and techniques while marine projects provide an opportunity to obtain a sub-aqua qualification.  These projects are normally run as groups and may last from a few weeks to a few months.

Community Projects

These projects are usually done in groups with volunteers working alongside local people to build schools, dams and wells, install fresh water systems, repair tracks and many other similar activities.  They mostly last for a few weeks and like many volunteer projects are often followed by an adventure phase or a safari.

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Where can I go?

Year Out Group’s members operate in over 90 gap year destinations around the world.  When deciding where you would like to take your gap year you can obtain background information and up to date security information from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO’s) website.  You gap year provider will provide you with a country pack but there is nothing better than a good guide book in order to learn more about the country, its history, people and customs.  There will also be travel books about the country.  Basically the more you know about a country before you go, the greater will be your enjoyment.

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Which organisation?

There are now hundreds of gap year organisations based in the UK and overseas.  Selecting the gap year organisation and the gap year program that is right for you requires careful research.  It is for this reason that Year Out Group developed the 50+ questions in its “Planning a year out?” section.  These can be used to help you check out any gap year organisation.  It is even more important to use these questions should you decide to try and book direct not least because there is an increasing number of poor organisations and even scams seeking your custom.

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Why Year Out Group?

Year Out Group is a membership organisation.  Year Out Group only accepts gap year organisations that have been operating for at least three years and that meet the Group’s membership criteria.  Members are then required to demonstrate annually that they continue to meet the meet the membership criteria.

Year Out Group’s members will have checked out all their gap year programs and will do their best to check that you are right for the program you have chosen and vice versa.  They will provide you with information about your project and destination and brief you as appropriate.  Once in country their representative will be available to support you should anything go wrong.

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