Volunteering & gap years

Not every student will go straight from University to the workplace. Even while at University students participate in voluntary activities to:

  • broaden their range of life experiences
  • develop skills
  • contribute to their community
  • gain experience in a particular field of work
  • make contacts in fields which are traditionally very hard to enter such as the environment, international development work or the media
  • enhance their CV

    • How do employers view this kind of gap year/ volunteering?

    There are some careers where it is positively a requirement e.g. careers in environmental conservation where lots of volunteering activity is the key to long term employment whether it's the Seychelles or the Cairngorms. 

    Other employers don't mind what you have done as long as you can show that you have spent the time constructively and have learned from the experiences which you have had.  It helps if you can talk about it really well on your CV.

    What kind of gap year/ volunteering can you do?

    The list is almost endless. You might want to something quite radically different whether it's teaching English in Korea, saving turtles in the Seychelles, serving beer in a bar in Sydney, Australia or volunteering to build a hospital in Kenya. On the other hand, you can particpate in local volunteering while you are at University through local charities, University Societies and local organisations in fields such as environmental conservation.

    So how do you find out what is out there that will let you have a great gap year or volunteering experience but not end up adding hugely to your student debt?

    First of all you need to work out:

    What do you want to do?

    Where do you want to do it?

    How long have you got?

    How are you going to fund your expedition/ travels/ volunteering?

    Then you need some good sources of information.

    The Careers Service has loads of useful resources – websites and  booklets which can help you decide. From lists of charities in the UK looking for volunteers to the names of organisations looking for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language to expedition recruiters for conservation projects.

     When do you plan all this?

    If you are thinking about a gap year following graduation, the answer is as early as possible. Organisations like the British Council who recruit graduates to teach English abroad say that their most popular destinations like South America can be filled before Christmas in your final year so don't hang about. Plan now and be ready to put your plans into operation as early as possible.

    Further Information

    Our virtual library contains searchable resources available online and at the Careers Service.  Use the links below to find the resources related to volunteering and gap years.

    Resources on volunteering

    Resources on taking a gap year