A teaching student in Senegal gains confidence as she teaches, just one of the benefits of volunteering

Volunteer to Increase Your Employability

Drive your career forward and enhance your employability through volunteering abroad

Entering the workforce after graduation can be a challenge, especially in competitive job markets. Most employers are actively looking for resumes that show relevant skills and work experience. Put yourself on a path for unparalleled career development through one of our work abroad programs, and stand out from the crowd.

You can sign-up for a volunteer project or internship. Take control of your future during your studies or by working abroad during your gap year. You could also go on a working vacation abroad while taking a career break.  

You can expect to:

  • Boost skills like communication, planning, and time management
  • Travel independently with the support of our trained local staff
  • Broaden your skill set and learn by getting actively involved

Ultimately, the volunteer work experience you gain with us will give your university or job application a significant boost.

A Journalism intern doing gap year work abroad, spends time learning about presenting for TV in Mongolia.

How to improve your employability

All of our projects have something to offer for career development. For example, as a pre-med student on our Medicine & Healthcare Projects, you’ll observe real doctors at work and learn about treatments and diseases, some of which you might never encounter in your home country. This kind of clinical exposure will truly help your medical school application stand out.

You can get work experience and improve your employability at any of our project placements in fields like:  

  • Medicine & Healthcare: As an intern, you’ll learn directly from medical professionals at hospitals, clinics, or healthcare centers. We offer opportunities to gain medical work experience abroad in fields like General Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing. You can also gain dental work experience with us through our Dentistry Projects.  
  • Teaching: You’ll work in classrooms abroad at schools and language centers with students of all ages. You can gain teaching experience by assisting on subjects like English, IT, Music, and French.
  • Childcare: Getting volunteering experience can also help you prepare for a career in professional childcare. You’ll support local teachers with Early Childhood Development in day care centers and schools, or care for people at special needs centers.
  • Veterinary Medicine & Animal Care: You’ll gain work experience with animals at a clinic or shelter overseas. You could find yourself observing a vet as they perform a sterilization in Romania, or accompany vets on visits to farms in Ghana.
  • Journalism: As a budding journalist, you can work in print, radio, or online. Expect to learn from local journalists, editors, photographers, and other staff. Use this experience to boost your journalistic skills on your resume and build an international portfolio of work.
  • Micro-Finance: You’ll support local entrepreneurs and help them start and run small businesses. These developing businesses allow locals to become financially independent. You’ll help with business plans, accounting, or give advice to entrepreneurs. 
Students gain dentistry and medical work experience by learning from local medical professionals in Argentina

Can traveling increase your employability?

Regardless of where you go or which project you join, the experience of working abroad will have a lasting impact on you. Here are some of the benefits of voluntary work:

  • Gain new skills from volunteering
  • Get a new perspective on global issues
  • Learn creative problem solving through work on the ground at your project
  • Network with international volunteers and Projects Abroad staff and partners
  • Have the opportunity to get a professional PADI certification if you’re doing a Diving & Marine Conservation Project

When you finish your project, our staff will be happy to provide you with references or arrange for references from project partners. We can also advise you if you need to fulfill university requirements.

A Law and Human Rights intern assists a South African family on his work abroad programme.

Hear from previous volunteers about the advantages of volunteering

Getting international volunteer work experience with Projects Abroad has opened doors for hundreds of our alumni. You can read some of their stories below:  

“Overall, the Projects Abroad Fiji experience changed my life. It offers so many things for the volunteer; you learn from the students, you learn from the other volunteers who are from all walks of life, you learn from your host family, you can learn a new language, you teach others about yourself and most importantly, you learn a ton about yourself by living with and helping others.” - Teaching in Fiji by Aaron W

“I learnt how physiotherapy can benefit those severely affected by disabilities, how to overcome difficult communication barriers, the importance of observation and how to act creatively on the spot! I am more confident in my abilities to assess and treat children.” - Physiotherapy in Cambodia by Jennifer P

“I never expected the incredible opportunities that I was about to have while working at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office (PAHRO). I learned more in my month of interning then I ever could have imagined. It was the first time in my life I felt like I was doing tangible work, and at the same time, I was actually touching the lives of people.” - Law & Human Rights in South Africa by  Emily D

 

 

A teaching volunteer taking a career break, works with a student in Belize to improve her literacy

Want to improve your employability? Get in touch with us!

For more information on how volunteering can benefit you, contact our Project Experts. They’re ready to answer your questions and help you find the project that best fits your needs and interests.

Need some help?

We'd be happy to help you choose a project that boosts your employability. Most of our staff have been volunteers themselves, so they’re well placed to answer your questions, big or small.

(+1) 619 320 2424

or email:

to start planning your project

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