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| Old Breconian 2nd Lt. David Morrell (Royal Welsh) during his GAP year in Uganda |
Want to do conservation work in Africa? Teach children sports skills in South East Asia? Help poor villagers in India? Study art in Mexico? Learn to snowboard in Canada? If you think you would enjoy the challenge and could gain from the experience then you should consider a GAP Year.
Christ College is hosting a futurewise regional GAP Fair on 11th March 2010 with some twenty GAP organisations represented and several South Wales schools and colleges invited. It is an ideal opportunity to explore all the possibilities that are now offered to young people and the popularity of GAP years continues to grow despite fears about the cost of higher education places and the economic uncertainty in Wales.
Head of Careers at Christ College Mr Grant Wolstenholme said: “Many of our Sixth Form consider a GAP year to be a vital step in their career planning, allowing them to experience challenging situations, get outside their comfort zone, serve others less well off than themselves, learn new skills and have fun!”
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| Old Breconian Henrietta Vyvyan-Robinson in Peru |
Christ College has for many years supported these ideals and works closely with GAP organisations and overseas agencies to ensure that the placements are suitable and safe for the individual. Indeed Christ College has for several also hosted GAP year students from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa to work alongside the teaching staff in school.
With the employment market for graduates getting ever tighter and the need to have an ‘edge' in the jobs market, young people see a GAP experience as a way of standing out from the crowd. The GAP organisations work hard to give young people the feeling of self reliance, independence and self confidence that can be hard to achieve in regular experiences, but they never forget the health and safety aspects that must be in place. The variety of opportunities is vast, with overseas travel, voluntary work, expeditions, courses and cultural exchanges and work placements all in the mix.
Young people are not the only ones to see the benefit of the GAP experience. The growing number of ‘Golden Gappers', those taking a career break or retirement, is testament to the value of this kind of experience. It seems it is never too late to have a life changing experience.
The ISCO Gap Fair takes place at Christ College, commencing at 7.00 pm. Please click here for more details.
G M Wolstenholme
Head of Careers
Christ College
Brecon
