If you have an adventurous frame of mind and are prepared to take a risk it is possible to travel and pick up work en route. If you don't speak the language, it is a good idea to spend some time before you go picking up a skill or specialism which transcends international frontiers - a qualification in teaching English as a foreign language, for example.
If you speak the language, bar jobs or jobs in hotels and restaurants shouldn't be difficult to obtain but the pay is usually poor. You can often do better if you have a recognized skill like a ski instructor's certificate or a canoeing or sailing qualification. Competition for these seasonal jobs is fierce but if you are there on the spot when the demand arises you could do well.
Young people don't have long histories of employment but a successful work-experience placement can add weight to a curriculum vitae and a good reference from the manager of the company in which you were placed can be valuable, especially if it complements an equally good reference from your school or college tutor.
Most participants enjoy their work-experience placement, but even if you don't you will probably learn something valuable. A few years ago one school student was convinced that hairdressing was the career for her until she tried out the job through work experience. After three weeks she discovered that she hated it. 'I couldn't stand it', she said. When asked why, she said that she had not realized from textbooks how hard it is to stand all day bent over someone's head. 'I had aches and pains in every part of my body.' Better to learn now rather than three months into a college course.
Currently National Traineeships offer this kind of package to school leavers who would like to undertake training to NVQ level 2 (the equivalent of 4 GCSE A-C grades).
Modem Apprenticeships offer similar but higher level training for those capable of working towards NVQ level 3 (the equivalent of two A levels).
For more information on these schemes and any other training opportunities in your area contact your local careers office.
For some people, a period of voluntary work, undertaken while out of paid employment, has been a turning point in their lives. Parents of young children have often turned their backs on the commercial world after having enjoyed a period of voluntary work in their children's primary schools. Mature students on youth and community work training courses often report that their interest in and commitment to such work arose out of their voluntary efforts while unemployed.
