Gap
Year Organisations
Listings
Gap Year Introduction | Paid Work Abroad
Volunteer Projects Abroad | Language Study Abroad
There are two lists of Gap Year specialists below:
- for-profit organisations (lower down the page).
- not-for-profit voluntary organisations:
Quest Overseas has provided team-based volunteer projects and expeditions for young people in Africa and South America since 1996.
All volunteer projects are part of a long-term development plan in collaboration with local NGO partners and communities. We strive to ensure the work our students undertake is sustainable and that it will have a positive lasting impact. Through our UK registered charity, Quest4Change we have raised over £1.5m for our projects.
Through the completion of a worthwhile projects students are challenged to work together and immerse themselves in new, unfamiliar cultures. Trained leaders help facilitate each individual's personal development - improving key communication, leadership and teamwork skills.
Quest is also externally assessed as compliant with British Standard 8848, a rigorous assessment of safe operational practices within the youth expedition industry.
Community Service Volunteers Community Service Volunteers was founded by the same people that founded Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). The aim is to involve young people aged 16-35 in voluntary service in the UK, to enrich the lives of volunteers and those they help and to generate social change; we are now the UK’s largest volunteering and training charity.
Lattitude is a charity that specialises in Gap Year volunteering for 17-25 year-olds. We are passionately concerned about the world and the issues facing us all. Above all, we are concerned about having a positive impact on the communities in which we volunteer. Lattitude Volunteers are not tourists. They immerse themselves in local culture, become members of the community, step outside their comfort zone and achieve something unique and experience life, living and new horizons.
Blue Ventures - an award winning UK-based not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to facilitating projects that enhance global coral reef conservation and research, offering opportunities to volunteers to contribute to coral reef research.
BTCV - British Trust for Conservation Volunteers has a successful history of environmental conservation volunteering throughout the UK and around the world.
Frontier - Mission: To conserve the world’s most endangered wildlife and threatened habitats and to build sustainable livelihoods for marginalised and under resourced communities in the world’s poorest countries. To create solutions that are apolitical, forward-thinking, community-driven, and innovative and which take into consideration the long-term needs of low income communities..
Greenforce - Global Volunteering and Gap Year Expeditions. Undertake wildlife conservation, volunteer overseas, gain ski or expedition leader qualifications, jungle trek or simply have an unforgettable gap year. Greenforce projects contribute directly to local communities and aid them through teaching, research and development. Greenforce also offers a number of specialised conservation programmes. Trekforce centres on adventurous and extreme treks that challenge and reward participants. Medforce, Ozforce, Skiforce and Careergap each have their own unique approach to creating your perfect gap year opportunity.
Leading Edge Expeditions - Leading Edge Expeditions and gap year activities are ventures approved by the Dorset Expeditionary Society, a registered charity, founded to encourage safe but challenging 'leading edge' expedition opportunities for young people who want more for their money.
Project Trust
has four main objectives:
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To give young people the opportunity to learn about a wider community than that in which they have lived so far, in a country with a different culture to their own, and for a length of time which enables them to appreciate the complete cycle of the seasons.
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To let them learn to use their imagination and skills by undertaking work which they may never have done before, to take up new interests and to utilise their initiative and resourcefulness to help others.
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To return with an objective appreciation of both the community they lived in overseas and their home community, to use their newly learned skills to benefit others and to have a clearer picture of what they want to achieve in the future.
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To help others at home to understand the culture of countries outside their normal experience.
Raleigh 'to inspire people from all backgrounds and nationalities to discover their full potential by working on sustainable environmental and community projects plus an adventure challenge, in Borneo, Costa Rica & Nicaragua or India for 4-10 weeks.
Working Abroad - WorkingAbroad is an international networking service for volunteers, workers and travellers, which offers you the ability to take action for nature and society. It is an independent, registered organisation based in the United Kingdom. We can provide you with the information you need to get you started.
Smallpiece Trust - 'focus on promoting engineering careers to young people through a variety of activities including the provision of residential courses; prize awards for university students; conferences and seminars; and supporting other engineering education schemes'.
Students Partnership Worldwide is an international development charity working in eight countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, recruiting and training 18-28 year olds to serve as volunteer educators living in rural communities for several months and leading health, environmental and education programmes.
The Oceania Project - caring for Whales, Dolphins and the Oceans - Participate in the Annual Whale Research Expedition as an Intern or Eco-Volunteer.
UNA Exchange is a large and dynamic organisation, helping hundreds of people to gain fulfilling international experiences each year. The majority of our work is in Wales, but UNA Exchange volunteers travel to more than 50 countries to participate in local development projects alongside local people.
Volunteering England is the national volunteering development agency for England, committed to supporting and enabling volunteering in all its diversity. Our partners range from national charities to voluntary agencies across the length and breadth of England; from NHS Trusts to arts organisations; from local community projects to government think-tanks.
VSO - Voluntary Service Overseas. For 50 years VSO has been fighting global poverty and disadvantage by bringing people together to build a fairer world. Education, both overseas and in the UK, is at the heart of our work. Our volunteers are not only school-leavers, the average age is 38, the majority coming from skilled, professional backgrounds. Most placements are for two years, but can also be as short as 2 weeks.
Volunteers aim to pass on their expertise to local people so that when they return home their skills remain. Volunteers can be aged between 18 and 75 years old and must have a formal qualification and some work experience. Regular postings are for two years and volunteers are provided with accommodation and a local level allowance as well as air fares and insurance.
The range of jobs is vast, and includes small business advisors, teachers, social workers, health professionals, management consultants, marine biologists, accountants and farmers.
Worldwide Volunteering is a non-profit making organisation whose aim is to make it easier for people of all ages to volunteer. We do this by providing instant access to information about the widest range of volunteering opportunities throughout the UK and worldwide.
The WWV database enables volunteers to build an on-screen profile of their ideal volunteer placement which is then matched against the requirements of over 1500 organisations with more than 1,000,000 placements each year throughout the world.
Foreign Office Travel Advice well-researched and constantly updated UK government information on global problems and dangers.
Useful for-profit Gap Year links:
Gapadvice, for independent gap year travel information, research and advice.
Gapyear.com for planning and booking a mass of overseas activities.
Year Out Group, YOG provides a total reference and resource for all you need to make the most of your Year Out. This includes over 35 provider organisations offering a superb choice of locations and activities.
Year in Industry provides talented young people with paid, degree relevant work placements in the year out before or during their university course.
i-to-i has a range of volunteering options that could see a gap escapee caring for orphans in Kenya or conserving endangered Pandas in China. They've also got a range of 'ultimate experiences' that combine volunteering and sightseeing in some of the most popular destinations around the world.
Gap Sports Abroad provides coaching placements, sports training programmes and exciting sports adventure tours abroad. We also have volunteer projects for the less sporty! Play, coach and qualify in sports in Australia, Canada, Africa or Latin America.
InterVol brings together information and advice on volunteering overseas. We believe that volunteering overseas should have positive outcomes for both volunteers and local communities. We encourage volunteers to avoid exploitation and to seek out opportunities for sustainable and appropriate development; to carefully select, research and prepare for their trip; and to travel responsibly.
Trekforce Expeditions - We have gap year projects, extreme expeditions, conservation, treks, expedition leader courses and career breaks all available for you. Trekforce training ensures everyone can complete our challenging adventures. Ben Fogle and Jack Osborne have come to film on our locations, while Bruce Parry led for us for over 6 years, so you will be in good hands!
Gapwork have up-to-date information on all gap year working abroad options, including the most popular destinations, the latest voluntary placements and work abroad information, plus help and advice to get any gap year job plan started.
Gap Guru is a specialist company that exclusively provides programmes to provide travellers with a unique insight into India and with opportunities for them to create their own special travel plans to achieve their goals and aspirations.
