A Vocational Vacation
From farms in Australia to snowboard lodges in Canada, many young people are
enjoying working holidays.
Once many students finish high school or college, they have the uncanny desire
to travel as far away from home as possible . Visiting new places and seeing exotic
locales around the world ___1___ can be a great learning experience, but there is one big problem that these
young travelers face — a lack of money. Most countries nowadays are ___2___ young globetrotters by
offering a six- to twelve-month working holiday for anyone between the ages of
18 and 30. ___3___, they will be able to experience new cultures while making
enough money to survive .
In Australia, the working holiday program has been a phenomenal success.
In its first year of existence, 1975, 2,000 working visas were ___4___. By 2006, this number had increased to 113,000, which is estimated to
have added US$1.3 billion to Australia's economy in that year. Many of the positions
are in the hospitality industry or harvest work,
but some travelers are getting jobs in finance ,
health care, and education.
For Australians, Britons, and New Zealanders, a popular place to spend a
working holiday is Canada, ___6___ there are numerous ski and snowboard
resorts . Jobs as lift operators , snowboard coaches ,
or as members of the resort staff are ___7___ simple. The biggest benefit in
Canada is that all workers get free lift passes while they are employed.
A working holiday is the perfect solution for those who want to see the world
but need some help to finance their once-in-a-lifetime trip.