Study & Work Abroad Blog

Studying Fine Art and Fashion Design in Paris

On May 13, 2013 / france, study abroad / Leave a comment

Paris is known to be one of Europe’s great cultural centres. Time spent studying at its historic design colleges and picking up French language skills will look fantastic on your CV. If you want to work in fashion, a strong working knowledge of French is very important if you want to be taken seriously in all aspects of the industry. Paris Fashion week is probably the industry’s most important event – a showcase at which future talent is recognised and important business relationships are made.

Parsons Paris

Parsons is a very well respected design college in New York – one of the truly recognised names amongst visual arts colleges worldwide. Their Paris campus offers students to study in the English language medium, surrounded by the cultural and design environment of France. Students are admitted at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supplemental courses in business, environmental studies and other subjects can be taken. There is plenty of nearby accommodation for students wishing to make this a short study trip, with prices in the range found at Tofino hotels.

École des Beaux-Arts

This 350 year old fine art school is Paris’ most historic fine art college. Today, the school is at the forefront of contemporary art practice in the city. It’s located on the historic left bank – the traditional homeland of the arts in Paris. Its list of famous tutors and successful alumni is incredibly impressive, as is its roster of guest speakers and other contemporary art calendar events.

Universite Paris Sorbonne

The Sorbonne offers courses across many disciplines, including Arts, Languages, Human Sciences and Education (its possible to qualify as a teacher through training with the Sorbonne). As such, it’s a great place to study for artists and designers wishing to expand their knowledge of other subject areas in order to complement their studio practice and research.

For fine artists, Paris has easy proximity to other centres of the art world such as Berlin, Hamburg and Barcelona. Picking up an undergraduate, masters, or some study credits at a Paris institution is sure to make you stand out from other graduates. Do not underestimate the importance of work contacts also – Paris is a fantastic global city in which to network and launch your career in the visual arts. Government support for the arts has not dwindled to the extent it has within the UK and you are sure to meet other like-minded people from all over the world.

WETM-IAC, New Horizons III Report & Au Pair of the Year

On May 13, 2013 / business trips, travel, work abroad / Leave a comment

Work Experience Travel Market & IAPA Annual Conference 2013 Recap

The Work Experience Travel Market & IAPA Annual Conference bring together the world’s top work & volunteer abroad, au pair and gap-year industry professionals to meet, share and collaborate. This industry conference hosted by WYSE Travel Confederation (The World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation) and IAPA (The International Au Pair Association) combines b2b meetings with further education, discussions and plenty of opportunities to network with partners and colleagues from around the world.

Youth Travel Research

Last month in Rome, Italy, the conference also saw the launch of the WYSE Travel Confederation’s New Horizons III Report, detailing important trends in the youth travel industry. This report revealed who is going, where and for how long, how young people are spending their time and money abroad as well as where they sleep and how they communicate while away from home. The New Horizon’s III Report discloses the motivation, strengths and trajectory of the fast-growing youth travel industry as well as a few other surprising statistics.

Why are young people traveling? The report clearly outlined the top 3 reasons being:

Holiday
Language Learning
Work Experience

The #1 destination for international Work Experience programs proved to be North America and of those surveyed, more than 60% of participants were female.

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Regarding budget, the largest expense for Work Experience abroad programs was disclosed as accommodation followed by food & drinks then program costs and activities; and despite easy access to technology these days there has been an overall increase in communication spending.

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While visas applications can sometimes be confusing and take time to process it’s good to know that young travelers are not intimidated by this, as demonstrated in the report.

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It’s obvious that young adults see the value in going abroad and appear to have well-defined motivation for their travels and understand the benefits.

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The presentation of the New Horizons III report by David Chapman and subsequent panel discussion left us with 2 questions to ponder:

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and …

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For more juicy statistics about youth travel, destinations and accommodation from the New Horizons III report, check out Budget Traveller’s recap from ITB Berlin as well as WYSETC’s Youth Travel Research website.

International Au Pair Association – Au Pair of the Year

One such example of gap year success, is Femke, a German au pair who spent a year with a host family in New Zealand. Femke was awarded “Au Pair of the Year” by IAPA at WETM-IAC in Rome. After her acceptance speech, the talented girl sang a beautiful song dedicated to New Zealand and her host family, proving that a year abroad can be life-changing, eye-opening and inspiring. Congratulations, Femke!

WYSE TRAVEL CONFEDERATION is the world’s largest network of youth and student travel operators. WYSE Travel Confederation is a not-for-profit association dedicated to supporting the global industry and connecting the organisations that serve millions of young people who travel to study, work and grow.

The International Au Pair Association (IAPA) is the leading global trade association for organisations active in all aspects of au pair and cultural exchange programmes. IAPA has more than 170 member organisations active in 45 countries worldwide. Member organisations must meet firm business and ethical standards, and agree to abide by IAPA’s Code of Conduct which signifies competence, fair dealing and high integrity. IAPA is a global not-for-profit organisation and a founding member of the World Youth Student & Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation.

To stay in the know in the youth travel sector, consider joining industry leaders at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference in Sydney, Australia from September 17 – 20th.

And follow @gostudywork on Twitter!

***

If you are thinking about becoming an au pair in Europe, check out our Au Pair FAQ or find out more about work experience programs in Canada here.

How to Write a Resume

On March 25, 2013 / canada, internships / Leave a comment

If you are thinking about taking an internship in Canada, you will need to prepare a resume. Not just any resume, but a GOOD resume!

What is the difference between a resume and a CV, you ask? What makes a good resume? The presentation below will teach you how to write a resume for an internship in Canada, what language to use and what you should definitely NOT write on your resume! Don’t forget to look at the sample resume below as well!

Are you thinking about taking a professional internship in Canada? Click here to learn about internships for European students and hear what these French students have to say about their internship program!

Internships in Toronto : Sample Host Companies

On March 21, 2013 / canada, internships / Leave a comment

Professional Internships in Toronto are gaining popularity with international students!

Because of this, we want to share with you today some of the host company descriptions, to give you an idea of the high quality internships we place our clients in. We have excellent feedback from our interns which you can see in the video testimonials at the bottom of this page. If you are thinking about taking an engineering internship, hotel internship, international trade internship, office administration internship, then read on!

Construction & Mechanical Engineering Internship

Location: Toronto
Minimum duration: 8 weeks
Company Description: This is a full service company with in-house capabilities for strategic planning, project accounting and finance, engineering advisory and operations management assistance.
Internship duties: This engineering internship position involves duties such as creating and editing mechanical drawings using the software program Autocad. Interns develop a greater understanding about the design of different heating, ventilation, and air conditioning installations by surveying pipes and ducts in buildings. They also give the opportunity to learn about the proposed systems for offices and commercial retails in downtown Toronto, as well as the brands and providers specific to this industry.
English requirement: Higher Intermediate English

NGO Office Administration Internship

Location: Toronto
Minimum duration: 8 weeks
Company description: This is an independent environmental advocacy group that fights to stop ill-conceived aid, trade projects, and foreign investments. They aim to inform and empower through publishing books and writing articles for the mainstream media and their online news sources.
Internship duties: This internship position provides an opportunity to develop office administration skills while being exposed to the field of journalism and environmental advocacy. Duties include organizing materials such as newspaper articles and scholarly journal and creating a database from the details of these materials.
English requirement: Upper Intermediate English

Real Estate Internship (Office Administration Internship)

Location: Toronto
Minimum Duration: 8 weeks
Company Description: This company is a real estate development company that works closely with clients to design and construct new home developments and projects. Using cutting edge designs, quality material and workmanship techniques, the company ensures client’s individual needs and desires are fulfilled.
Internship Duties: This internship position involves working directly with the Marketing team and their various projects and activities. Duties include answering phone calls as well as, handling documents such as invoices, financial inventories and checklists.
English Requirement: Upper Intermediate English

Shipping, Trade, and Transportation Internship

Location: Toronto
Minimum Duration: 8 weeks
Company Description: This trade network provides international forwarding services utilizing carriers that most effectively support clients’ cost and scheduling needs. The company’s carriers integrate air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerages, trade and customs advisory services another value-added services.
Internship Duties: This internship involves many tasks related to office administration while exposing the intern to the shipping and trade industry. Duties include arranging shipment pick-up, tracing shipments, and locating missing information with respect to certain deadlines. In addition to preparing daily reports about issues such as exports, interns write up bills, and respond to customer concerns. This position exposes to the specific software programs used by the shipping industry such as Warehouse Management Systems and Ship Manager.
English Requirement: Upper Intermediate English

Customer Service & Hospitality Internship

Location: Toronto
Minimum Duration: 8 weeks
Company Description: This property is a 200-room downtown Toronto hotel, specializing in business travel.
Internship Duties: This position offers an opportunity for interns to provide guests staying at the hotel with comfortable hospitality and excellent customer service. Duties include answering phone calls, making reservations and responding to guest’s questions and inquiries. As well as performing guest check-in and check-out upon arrival and departure, interns also perform filing tasks. Interns are responsible for accommodating guest’s requests and delivering any needed items to their rooms.
English Requirement: Intermediate English

Hear what our interns have to say!

Internships in Canada provide valuable career experience in a professional, multi-cultural environment. Are you thinking about taking an internship abroad? Let us help you!

Do you have minimum of 1 year of professional work experience in marketing, office administration, engineering, IT or hotel / hospitality management? If you plan to stay in Canada for 24 weeks or more, think about taking the Career Development Program – a paid professional internship in Canada!

Are you looking for a short-term internship, perhaps a summer internship in Canada, related to your education? The Student Internship Program provides internships for international students in more than 30 different fields from engineering internships to hotel internships to marketing internships, you can find it with this program!

Thinking about exploring Canada on a Working Holiday visa and supplementing your stay with a service industry job? Check out the Casual Work Experience Program - guaranteed paid work in Canada in restaurants, hotels, retail stores and resorts.

Do you want to be considered for an internship in Canada?
Send us your CV and we will be happy to make a recommendation!

How Living with a Host Family Can Help Your Language Skills

On February 26, 2013 / study abroad / Leave a comment

When you move abroad to study or to work it is a great idea to stay with a host family while you are there. There are a number of benefits to doing this and the chance to hone your language skills is definitely one of the main ones.

Relax and Talk

One of the big worries for any new language student is that of being able to relax and speak to the locals whenever the opportunity arises to do so. If you plan to do this when you bump into people at the market or in a restaurant you might not have the time to settle your nerves and show how much you know. Things are a lot easier if you are staying in a family home and can chat to everyone around the dinner table or when you are all watching television together. This will also give you a chance to build up a relationship with some of the different family members and start to feel confident about speaking to them about anything which pops into your head, rather than restrict yourself to stilted conversations which you have planned in advance.

Learn Everyday Words Well

There is nothing like repetition to help you learn certain words well. If you are staying in a family home and eating with them then you will quickly begin to pick up the words which are useful in everyday situations. These include expressions you would use around the dinner table, general chat about how your day was and other domestic matters. This means that even when you are taking it easy with your host family you will be learning all the time in a natural way.

Make Long Term Friends

The most lasting benefit you could get from staying with a foreign family is that it could help give you long term friendships. By spending a lot of time with them you will find out how they live and what their interests are far more easily than you could do in most other circumstances. Of course, it makes sense to know the basics before you head away or as soon as you arrive. For example, if you are new to Vancouver you might be wondering, “Where can I take English classes in Vancouver?” It is essential that you learn the simple words and phrases which will let you communicate with your host family from the moment you arrive in their house.

All About Languages (Idiomas Fuera)

On December 12, 2012 / international education, language / Leave a comment

All About Languages has launched two new webpages in English and Spanish for Boarding Schools, High Schools, Universities/ Colleges & Trade Schools. The authorized English UK Partner Agency All About Languages has embarked on a new venture. The agency that was recently awarded the Star Award as the “Star New Agency” in 2011 and again shortlisted as the “Star North American Agency” has begun promoting more than just Language Schools.

On November 1st they launched two new websites which are additions to their current group, these new websites http://www.allabout-learning.com and http://www.millonesdecursos.com promote Boarding Schools, High Schools, Universities / Colleges & Trade Schools to the English and Spanish speaking markets.

They are following up the successful launch of their language websites in 2009 by adding quality schools to the new websites in these categories for their growing client base; this will allow the company to expand their market potential. Since 2009, they have been advising students from different countries all over the globe such as the USA, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama & more.

The company takes pride in promoting only the best schools in the sector, always fully accredited and with the highest standards in language and international education. The company director Lawrence Morello stated: “This will bring us one step closer to becoming one of the top worldwide agencies and school promoters on the web and we are excited about embarking on this new project”.

About All About Languages:

The company was founded in 2009 with the goal of not just being a language travel agency but also a portal to help students find and learn about different language schools worldwide. Promoting over 240 schools on its English market website www.allabout-languages.com and its Spanish site www.idiomasfuera.net, the company has become one of the premier agencies in the sector being nominated for two consecutive years for an STM Star Award.

30 Ways to Say “Turtle” & Other Things You Might Learn While Studying in Bologna

On December 10, 2012 / italy, language / Leave a comment

The city of Bologna has taught me many things. Perhaps the most unexpected of these is the ability to say ‘turtle’ in over 30 languages! For each variation of ‘turtle’ I can remember who taught me, where I was, and what I was doing. I fondly recall mastering the Dutch ‘schildpad’ while savouring my first gelato, reciting the French ‘tortu’ while sipping espresso at a bar and tackling tricky Cantonese intonation during a Byron seminar.

I began to collect the word as a sort of linguistic diary of my encounters as an Erasmus student in Bologna. After only three months, I had gathered together over 30 languages – from Arabic to Swahili. This babel of ‘turtles’ is testament to Bologna as a vibrant hub for students from all over the world.

Through experiences at language schools, interactions at university and chance meetings with friends of friends, I developed a close knit circle of friends from Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey to name just a few. Together with students from all over the world, our dinner parties were like a mini United Nations where we put the world to rights. In the end I came to the conclusion that the road to peace is paved with tortellini and tiramisu!

Language schools are a great way to meet new people when you’re a new arrival in Bologna. Not only will your new language skills allow you interact with the locals when you’re out and about but you’ll also encounter international students from all over the globe within the classroom itself.

There are two language schools in the historic Santo Stefano area which offer intensive Italian courses. ALCE offers an immersive experience and places emphasis on experiencing real Italian life and going out into the city rather than just studying grammar in a text book. For that reason, ALCE organises trips and events throughout the week, from visiting the wonderful museums dotted around the city to experiencing aperitivo, the highly social tradition of having a drink and a light bite in a bar or cafe before your main meal. This provides an opportunity for students to chat to locals and improve their speaking skills in a relaxed manner. The ARCA school also encourages immersion in the language and uses a communicative method of teaching whereby the students are taught by doing’ rather than simply ‘studying’ so that they are prepared for everyday situations and, accordingly, are able to ‘experience society directly as part of it, rather than as just an observer or tourist.’

From my experiences with Bolognese people, I’ve found them to be incredibly open and friendly. You’ll find them more thanwilling to take you under their wing and give you insights into the nitty gritty of Italian life and politics. They take great delight in talking about traditional Bolognese food and how it should be eaten. It pains them to hear of Brits serving tomato sauce with spaghetti and calling it ragu and believe me, once you’ve tasted the real deal served with tagliatelle, you’ll never go back.

Attending a language school, not only enriched my knowledge of Italian culture, but also my awareness of other cultures as I discovered Bologna together with international students from all walks of life. My experiences in Bologna took me from existing in a monolingual bubble to being able to make jokes in Italian, swear in German, sing in Finnish, and say ‘I love you’ in Turkish (in fact, I later married the young Turk I met in Bologna and the city is now my adopted home). I can truly say that learning a language opens doors to opportunities that you might never have thought possible and you never know who, what or how many turtles you might discover along the way. It’s well worth the leap!

This is a guest post by the lovely Sarah (Sarita) from A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy. Sarah currently works as an expat English teacher in Bologna, Italy. She fell in love with Bologna when she studied there as part of the Erasmus programme. She followed the laws of fiction and fell in love while studying abroad and vowed to return so that she could marry her Turkish love. She describes herself as a postmodern Anglo-Muslim hybrid and writes on a variety of topics, including life in Italy, cultural observations, current issues relating to Islam, peculiarities of English and Italian, and Education.

A Word from a Canadian Au Pair in Paris

On November 8, 2012 / au pair, france / 1 Comment

Recently, we received a lovely message from a Canadian au pair in France, Desiree! Desiree is a French immersion graduate from Burnaby, British Columbia who recently joined a family in Paris as au pair for 1 year. She started her year off in July with a family vacation in Corsica, getting to know the children and grandparents. Now, she has settled into life in France, is furthering her education and working with 3 lovely children. Desiree has her own studio apartment in Paris and lives within walking distance of her host family’s home.

Here is what she had to say about being an au pair in Paris:

” I wanted to just shoot you a message thanking you for everything Latitude did for me! I’ve never been happier in my entire life! I came here in search of friends, happiness and independence, and I feel like I’ve already accomplished it all in only a few months. I can’t wait to see what else I gain from this experience when my year here is up. Thank you a billion and one times for all your hard work, help, and advice! “

Merci, Desiree!

NOW OPEN – Working Holiday in Canada (PVT – Permis de Travail) for French Nationals

On November 7, 2012 / canada, france, work abroad / Leave a comment

Great news from the Canadian Embassy in Paris today! The Working Holiday category of the International Experience Canada program is now open for applications for 2013! The other categories, Young Professionals (Jeune Professionnels), Internship (Stage) and Summer Jobs (Job d’Été), will open on November 19th, 2012!

For French nationals between the ages of 18 – 35 who wish to work in Canada or take an internship in Canada, now is the time to submit your application. The most important is that you have all your documents in order and that the postmark on your envelope is dated early!! Latitude International Education can help you to find an internship in Canada and apply for the appropriate visa so please don’t hesitate to ask us questions!

The Youth Mobility Unit (Unité Mobilité des Jeune) at the Embassy of Canada in France has some tips and technical advice for you regarding the application process:

Hello,

We are pleased to announce that the “Working Holiday” (WHP) category of the 2013 International Experience Canada (IEC) initiative with France is now officially open!

New for 2013!
The 2013 IEC initiative with France will open in two phases. The “Young Professionals”, “Internship/On-the-Job Training” and “Student Summer Job” categories will open on November 19th, 2012.

This two-phase opening of the 2013 IEC initiative with France aims at improving the processing of your applications.

14 000 places are once again available to French youth this year, of which 6 750 are in the WHP category, on a “first come, first served” basis.

We anticipate that this category will close very quickly. We therefore strongly recommend that you ensure that the postal mark with the date on which you send your application is very legible on the envelope.

All information, forms, and documents required to complete your application to the 2013 “Working Holiday” (WHP) category are now available on our website: www.amb-canada.fr/iec.

Technical Notes
1) Web Browsers: Personalised IEC application kits cannot be fully downloaded using the Google Chrome web browser. The application kit will appear on your screen but certain required fields will remain blank whereas the information provided must appear clearly in order for us to analyse your file. Please use another web browser when downloading your personnalised application kit and forms.

2) For Mac Users: You must configure your Mac so that Adobe Reader is the default program for reading PDF files. “Preview” is not compatible with our dynamically-loaded kits. You can download Adobe Reader for free from the Adobe website:http://get.adobe.com/reader/. You must also use Adobe Flash Player. This program is also available free of charge from the Adobe website: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.

If you would like to know how to configure Adobe Reader as the default program for reading PDF files on your Mac, please consult our FAQ.

3) Smartphones and Tablets: It is not possible to download IEC personalised application kits or Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) forms from these devices. You must use a laptop or a desktop computer.

We thank you for your interest and wish you the best of luck with the application process.

Cordialement, / Sincerely,

Unité Mobilité des Jeunes | Youth Mobility Unit
Ambassade du Canada en France | Embassy of Canada in France

Contact Latitude International Education for more details about working in Canada and internship in Canada. We look forward to helping you achieve your dreams!

Bonne courage!

People Pics Competition

On November 2, 2012 / photography / Leave a comment

A fun photo competition hosted by Holiday Extras and judged by Melvin at Traveldudes may just help me win that iPad 2 I’ve been after! Or a wallet full of travel vouchers from Thomas Cook! Here’s hoping!

Two of my favourite Harajuku shots taken on a Sunday afternoon, show the cosplay and fantasy that young Japanese get up to when they break out of their school or work uniforms!

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Study & Work Abroad Blog

Studying Fine Art and Fashion Design in Paris