What’s a gap year?
By the end of year 12, I hear a lot of students say, “I need a break!”; “I’m not opening another book until I have to!” And you know what, I get it. You have been at school since you were 5. Some of you loved every moment, some of you hated it. Most year 12s make decisions about what to study or where to work. Then they start organising how the next phase of their life will take shape - as if planning for that is really possible (but that’s another blog post)! What if I told you there is a way to put your study on hold and have a break. You can do some travel, learn new skills, meet new people, discover new ideas and even make some money. Does this interest you? Read on…
A gap year allows you to defer your study (if you have been accepted into a course) and take some time to learn more about yourself. There are plenty of programs available that help you find and organise a gap year that suits you. I have listed some of them below. I would strongly suggest talking to your school careers counsellor to see if there are any programs supported by your school. Before you begin your research, here are some examples of my students who made the best of their gap year:
Tyla: completed a barista and RSA course before she finished yr 12 so she had some hospitality skills to take with her to the ski fields of Canada. She worked on the ski runs, behind the scenes and started training new arrivals. Tyla eventually came home and completed her degree after living in Canada for a couple of years.
Rylee: joined the Australian Defence Force gap year program to see if life in the military was for her. She’s still on her gap year getting paid and learning new skills.
Jax : After yr 12, Jax worked as a boarding house supervisor in a school in the UK, did some travel around Europe and then organised to complete their university by external mode so they could continue to live and work overseas.
I’ve listed some of the programs below to help you with your career mapping. Don’t forget to talk to your school - they might have just the program for you.
Australian Defence Force (ADF) gap year program.
Department of Agriculture gap year program - opportunities in the agriculture and faming industry.
EF Education programs - combine language learning with education.
Year 13 - this websites links you to a range of gap year opportunities around the world including Camp USA.
Happy planning!