There are thousands of reasons that people want to take a gap year; to travel, to meet new people, to take a break from years of exams and these are all great reasons. This year we have seen the importance of self-care and emotional wellbeing to protect our mental health. We especially see the importance of making memories and of meaningful experiences. When approached in the right way, a gap year can be so much more than a year out. Let’s take a look at how gap year travel programs create an opportunity for personal and professional development.
Gap year travel programs for personal development
Gap year travel through organisations such as Culsans are specifically built for people at your stage of life. At Culsans we keep our group trips small so that we can use the experiences of previous gap year students to form the best adventures for your enjoyment, but also for your personal development.
Gap year travel for mental health
Take a break from study and tune in to who you are. After A-levels, you are likely to have completed 14 years of non-stop education. Take the pressure off and reconnect with yourself. You are bound to gain far more in the years ahead if you are in a happy, healthy mental place.
Challenge your perspective with gap year volunteering
It’s amazing how a new environment can awaken and change your perspective. It may make you feel incredibly lucky and thankful for your personal lifestyle. Seeing, understanding and feeling how different people around the world live may help you to see a bigger life picture. This can often make people more flexible in their day to day lifestyle, relatable to others and generally more mature.
Soft skills for personal confidence
Gap years should be designed to throw you out of your comfort zone. By doing this, without knowing it, you will be developing a number of vital soft skills such as; confidence, communication, time keeping, resilience, negotiation…the list goes on! All of these skills are vital in making you a more confident, capable and happy person. Again, a big plus for future employers and job opportunities.
Gap year travel programs for professional development
Gap year travel helps to accelerate your professional development by placing you out of your usual comfort zone. Many of the opportunities you will experience on a Culsans Gap Travel program can be added to your CV.
Time to think about your what’s next for you
Quite often we can become so consumed in having to follow set academic paths. Statistics show that students who have taken a gap year are less likely to drop out of uni in their first year. Taking a year off can give you time to truly think if the course or path you have chosen is really right for you. You may discover on your travels that you don’t wish to study History and you’d be far more interested and better suited to a Business course which will help your professional development by leading you on to the right career path. Fortunately, you now have the time to make those administrative changes.
Make friends and learn to network
Meeting people from around the world, outside of your school bubble is not only a huge life asset but also opens your mind to other ways of life. Why continue with the same day-to-day surrounding people when there are so many more to meet out there? Every person you meet is different and is a new connection opportunity. You will reconnect with old friends on your return – so nothing to be lost, only gained! The practice of meeting a variety of new people is the perfect preparation for university life, and for starting your first jobs.
Hard skills for your CV
Engaging in new activities and things you have never considered doing before will give you new skills. These may include: cookery courses, scuba diving PADI qualifications, teaching English abroad TEFL qualifications, safari or wilderness training, hospitality courses, fashion internships, business courses or your pilot’s license. More skills = a more all rounded persona meaning you will likely be able to cope much better in different environments. This is a big plus for any job interview or role you may go on to apply for in the future.
If these are the kind of values and skills you would like to take away from your gap year travel program, get in touch for your copy of our 2022 itinerary.
