TIME was, 20 years ago, when gap years were almost exclusively for school-leavers. Junior would gather an interesting range of fungal infections in India before sponging off a long-lost aunt in Kalgoorlie, followed by a final dash across the Pacific — surfing in Hawaii, posing for pictures beside the Golden Gate Bridge — in time to start a degree in art history at Edinburgh University.
But then, people in their thirties who had never taken a gap year, and who had experienced one bad journey to work too many, decided that they, too, would like a round-the-world trip. And now the parents of the career-breakers — dubbed, rather unjustly, “Saga Louts”, “Denture Venturers” and “SKI-ers” (Spending their Kids’ Inheritance) — are getting in on the act.
The year-off market is worth about £2.5 billion annually, says Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, with about 230,000 UK travellers under 24 setting off every year, 90,000 career-breakers and 200,000 over-55s. The average length of a trip during a career break is two to six months, and the average spend is between £6,000 and £9,000.
Mintel, the market research company, has found that as many as 7.5 million workers a year consider career breaks. Websites such as www.thecareerbreaksite.com and www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk cater for the vast number of British workers who “drop out”. The Career Break Site is pitched squarely at “bored British professionals” and sells T-shirts bearing slogans such as “Today resignation, tomorrow the world!” — which capture the Zeitgeist of Britain where the “job for life” is a thing of the past.
Older travellers are meticulous planners, says Charlotte Hindle, author of several gap year and career-break guidebooks. “But they need to be — the last thing you want to do is worry when you’re away from home.”
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Her advice to the growing legions of career-breakers is not to set off until they have at least five years’ work experience if they want to return to the same field and, above all, to foster contacts.
Figures from the Confederation of British Industry show that one business in four views career breaks favourably. For example, the business advisory firm Deloitte allows unpaid leave of up to two years. But like most companies, it requires employees to prove that they are taking time out for “positive reasons” — no “loafing about” allowed.
Mortgage firms are often flexible, allowing customers to reduce their payments while they are away, and make heavier contributions on their return. And strong rental markets make letting out properties, especially in London, a good source of income for people while they are away on long trips.
Phil Murray, who runs www.gapadvice.com, urges people to think of time away as career “development”, rather than a “break”. “Show the benefits to your employer,” he says. “If you want to change jobs, think how it will look on your CV when properly planned.”
Page 2: Will Hide offers his top planning tips including all the essential websites
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()Trip of a lifetime starts here
Where, when, how? Will Hide offers his top planning tips
A GAP year is a big undertaking, and the most important thing to do to make it a life-changing trip, rather than a holiday from hell, is to plan it properly. Where do you want to go? How will you get there? How much will it cost? Are you going to work? What insurance will you need? What do you need to sort out before you go? Fortunately, today there is a whole industry devoted to helping you organise it all. So, if you’re taking time off before starting college, fed up with the boss, or you fancy spending the children’s inheritance, here are the websites and books to give you some great ideas and help you on your way.
GENERAL INFORMATION
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www.gapyear.com: Aimed at younger gappers, it’s one of the best starting points to explore your options.
www.gapadvice.org: All-round information, with links and a handy gap-cost calculator. www.thecareerbreaksite.com: One-stop shop, including a section for employers on why they should let staff take a career break.
www.yearoutgroup.org: For younger gappers, with plenty of advice and a good section on university tuition fees Q&As. www.lonelyplanet.com: The Thorn Tree discussion forum has sections on gap year and round-the-world travel.
IDEAS
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www.vso.org.uk: Put your skills to use for a good cause in the developing world. www.gap-year.com: Also aimed at younger gappers, presented in an easy-to- navigate format.
www.gap.org.uk: Advice for younger travellers on volunteering projects and placements. A similarly useful one to browse is www.findagap.com.
www.realgap.co.uk: Travel, work and volunteer schemes in more than 30 countries.
www.bunac.org: A range of working holidays for students, including teaching in American summer camps.
www.gapyeardirectory.co.uk: Links to projects, including teaching and community placements and sport courses.
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www.responsibletravel.com: Gap-year ideas plus links to environmental travel.
www.tourismconcern.org.uk: Advice on ethical volunteering.
www.natives.co.uk: Excellent website for those who want to spend their gap year on the ski slopes; loads of jobs.
www.globalfreeloaders.com: If you’re prepared to have complete strangers sleep on your sofa, register here so you can do the same in return.
www.vocationvacations.com: Pay to work in a new job — two days with an interior designer in LA or with a chocolatier in Brighton, for example — to see if it’s for you in the long run.
www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk: Travel, work and volunteer schemes in more than 30 countries. Also try www.madventurer.com.
www.raleigh.org.uk: Charity “committed to the personal growth and development of young people” on gap projects from Borneo to Chile.
www.intervol.org.uk: Information about volunteering on projects that have positive benefits for volunteers and the host communities.
www.gapsports.com: If sport’s your thing, coach football and teach English to children in Costa Rica or teach cricket in South African townships.
www.teaching-abroad.co.uk: Teaching posts and medical electives, as well as a large variety of placements such as law in China, archaeology in Romania, learning Russian in Moldova and animal welfare in Mexico.
www.wwv.org.uk: Database of worldwide volunteering from Aids-awareness projects in East Africa to iguana farming in Nicaragua
www.wearev.com: A charity “set up to inspire a new generation of young volunteers”, including those who may not traditionally have thought about a gap year.
www.theleap.co.uk: Worldwide work placements for students and career breakers. Learn polo in Argentina or help to run bush camps in Botswana.
www.cactuslanguage.com: Language courses, volunteer programmes and TEFL courses.
PRACTICAL ADVICE
www.craigslist.org: Ignore the small ads (if you want), head instead for the discussion forums on travel and house-swapping.
www.fco.gov.uk/knowbefore yougo: Advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
www.moneysupermarket.com: Compare travel insurance deals.
www.blogger.com: Set up your own online travel diary so the folks back home can follow your adventures.
www.objectivegapyear.com and www.safetrek.co.uk: Practical safety courses aimed at gap yearers.
www.masta.org: Health information for the open road.
www.kidsintow.co.uk: General information about travelling with children, though not particularly oriented towards gap years. See www.travellingwithchildren.co.uk.
www.parentscentre.gov.uk: Practical information about taking children out of school for an extended period.
ESSENTIAL READING
The Gap Year Book (Lonely Planet, £12.99)
Planning Your Gap Year (How To, £10.99)
First Time Around the World (Rough Guides, £10.99)
Work Your Way Around the World (Vacation Work, £12.95)
The Career Break Book (Lonely Planet, £12.99)
The Virgin Travellers’ Handbook (Virgin, £14.99)
Gap Year for Grown Ups (Vacation Work, £11.95)
Before You Go: The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your Gap Year (Bloomsbury, £7.99)
Taking a Gap Year: The Essential Guide to Taking a Year Out (Vacation Work, £12.95)
The Gap Year Guide Book 2006 (John Catt Educational, £11.95).
Bugs Bites & Bowels — the Essential Guide to Travel Health (Cadogan, £9.99)
INSPIRING READING
For new-age hippies in South-East Asia: The Beach (Alex Garland, Penguin, £8.99)
For backpacking across India (and falling out with your partner): Are You Experienced? (William Sutcliffe, Penguin, £7.99)
For chancing it across Africa: Swahili for the Broken Hearted (Peter Moore, Bantam, £7.99)
For bumbling about in the Outback: Down Under (Bill Bryson, Black Swan, £8.99)