Work abroad and finding jobs

What is grape picking?

• Grape picking is cutting bunches of grapes from the grapevine or vine. The bunches of grapes are removed from the grape plants in one piece and then distributed over the crates.
• You often work in an international team from different countries.
• The grape harvest is often a relatively short period, the timing of which depends on the local weather; it can sometimes be difficult to plan to arrive at the right wine region at exactly the right time.

What is fruit picking?

• Fruit picking is done in orchards where apples, cherries, olives, plums, oranges or other fruit are picked from the branches or from the ground.
• Harvesting exotic crops such as cocoa, kiwi, coffee berries and bananas also falls under fruit picking.
• Depending on the fruit you are harvesting, you may sometimes have to climb trees or steps or bend down a lot or even crawl.
• Fruit picking can be done in all kinds of places all over the world. If you organize it well and know when to be where, you can pick fruit all year round in Europe or the world.
• To prepare fruit for picking, a grower often has to do a lot of preparatory work, such as pruning, thinning and weeding. These activities in fruit growing also offer opportunities if you want to work abroad.
• Some experience in this area can make the work more fun, and also a lot more lucrative if your payment depends on how much you pick.

What are the working conditions?

• In most jobs as a fruit picker, you are paid based on the amount of fruit you pick. However, there is usually a set production level that you must achieve as a minimum, especially if the farmer provides a place to sleep and food for you.
• Try not to feel too discouraged at the end of the first day or week if it turns out that some experienced employees have picked three times as much as you. You can always try to copy their technique or ask for advice. After a week or two, your earnings and self-confidence will certainly have increased.
• You can often stay cheaply at a nearby campsite or for free at the farmer's own place
• How physically demanding the work is depends on the crop you pick and what exactly your duties are around the harvest.
• You usually have to be at least 18 years old.

Why to pick fruits or grapes?

• To stimulate your sense of involvement: sometimes you work very intensively on a farm for a long time with the same people, you often also sleep in a room with them: you have to like that, but you also make friends for life.
• To make the world around you more sustainable: by looking for work in organic farming or permaculture.
• To be profitable in a creative way: Some small farmers will not be able to pay you a wage, but offer a place to sleep and food in exchange for work. To gain new experiences: You experience much more during your stay on the farm and when you go to work than when you would travel around alone.
• To increase your self-awareness: further away from your familiar environment you discover more quickly what you can actually do and what you actually want. By going to work you encounter yourself more often, you get to know yourself better and accept who you are and want to be.
• To test your environmental awareness: by living and working in rural areas, you experience a foreign culture in a completely different and more authentic way than when you work in the tourism sector, for example.

Where can you pick grapes and fruit abroad?

• Australia: fruit picking
• England: fruit picking, especially in southern England
• France: grape picking, fruit picking
• Georgia: fruit picking
• Greece: olive picking
• Italy: grape picking, fruit picking
• Jordan: fruit and olive picking
• New Zealand: fruit picking
• Spain: grape picking, fruit picking, olive picking
• Thailand: fruit picking
• Switzerland: fruit picking

What do you need as a grape or fruit picker?

• Professionalism: you often have to work hard and hard, which is why the average slacker usually doesn't last long on a farm or nursery
• Flexibility: the weather conditions and the growth of plants don't always go according to plan, which means that your flexibility will often be called upon
• Ability to work together: being able to or learning to work together with a group of seasonal workers or with the farm family will always be necessary

To what extent are you insured for the risks as a fruit and grape picker?

There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance when picking fruit or grapes abroad

• Your local health insurance normally lapses. You then need special insurance to remain insured against illness and accidents.
• Local employers usually do not offer any, or only limited, supplementary insurance.
• The risk of accidents is somewhat greater on farms and in the fruit growing business than in other sectors.
• A number of specialized insurances offer opportunities to do (temporary) paid work abroad where you run a bit more risk, such as working in orchards or vineyards.

Read more

• Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Werken op een boerderij in het buitenland verzekeren (NL)
• Risicovol werk in het buitenland verzekeren: van sportinstructeur tot boerderijmedewerker (NL)

Paid vacancies, internships and volunteer work with organizations and institutions in work fields such as consulting, administration, communications, consulting, finance, health care, legal, social services, management, marketing, environment, education, research, organization, psychology, pedagogy, engineering, tourism and science. With sector information, destination advice and job application tips

See the following pages for jobs and vacancies per sector:

What does it mean to be a sports instructor abroad?

• A sports instructor is someone who teaches sports in theory and practice. You teach how to master a certain sport, or learn to practice it better.
• In addition, you are often busy with all kinds of practical matters concerning the requirements for the sport in question.

What does it mean to be an outdoor trainer abroad?

• An outdoor instructor is someone who teaches the theory and practice of an outdoor activity. You teach how to master a certain activity, or learn to master it better.
• With many outdoor activities, you pay extra attention to safety while practicing the activity.
• In addition, you are often busy with arranging and organising all kinds of practical matters around the activity.

Why would you become a sports instructor or outdoor trainer abroad?

• Helpfulness: it is rewarding work that you get a lot in return. You are busy transferring knowledge to others.
• Involvement: it strengthens your sense of connection with people and nature.
• Experience: You gain unique experiences in another country, in another nature and in another culture.
• Sense of freedom: especially when you are working outside in a beautiful environment.
• Self-insight: you learn independence, to trust yourself and how to react in difficult situations.

What do you need, or what skills can you acquire as a sports instructor or outdoor trainer abroad?

• Empathy: feeling for the people you teach or guide.
• Having courage: you should not be too fearful in some sports.
• Being aware of the environment, respect for the flora and fauna and the culture in which you work.
• Being aware of the organization: you must always be able to remain alert, because you are responsible for yourself and your students.
• Flexibility: the weather conditions and seasons, the physical condition of yourself and your students can have an influence.

Where can you become a sports trainer or outdoor trainer abroad?

A short list of popular outdoor destinations

• Australia
• Canada
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Germany
• Iceland
• Norway
• New Zeeland
• Switzerland
• United States

To what extent are you insured for the risks?

• Are you insured as a sports instructor abroad?
• When you become a sports instructor, special rules apply and there are also specific insurance policies that take into account the risks you can run into
• Read more:Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Verzekeren van activiteiten als sportinstructeur in het buitenland (NL)

• Activities: the work can range from reception work and maintenance work to sometimes managing a local employee
• Salary: from room and board to a salary that allows you to provide for yourself
• Accommodation: In most cases, you will stay at the accommodation itself. Sometimes you sleep in a tent or you can bring your own tent

Why would you work at a hotel, guesthouse or ecolodge abroad?

• To stimulate your sense of involvement: you often work very intensively with the same people at a hotel or accommodation for a long time, you often also sleep in a room with them: you have to like that, but you also make friends for life. To make the world around you more sustainable: by looking for work at an ecolodge or sustainable accommodation you can combine your work and interests nicely.
• To be profitable in a creative way: Some owners will not be able to pay you a salary, but offer a place to sleep and food in exchange for work.
• To gain new experiences: During your stay abroad and when you go to work, you will experience much more than if you were to travel around alone.
• To increase your self-awareness: further away from your familiar environment, you will discover more quickly what you can actually do and what you actually want. By going to work, you will encounter yourself more often, get to know yourself better and accept who you are and want to be.
• To test your environmental awareness: by living and working in special places in the world, you will experience a foreign culture in a completely different and more authentic way.

What do you need if you want to work at a hotel, hostel or ecolodge?

• Be environmentally aware: wherever you work, you will always have to take your environment into account. Every country has its own rules and customs that you will have to adhere to to a certain extent
• Being aware of the organization: every organization also has its own way of looking at hospitality and hospitality. Here too, you will have to take more into account. Just like with the limitations/challenges that some schools have due to a lack of money or facilities
• Communication skills: knowledge of the local language is not a must but it is a big advantage and in addition you will often have to be able to communicate well with the guests of the accommodation where you will be working
• Professionalism: on some days and certainly during the high season you will have to work hard
• Flexibility: the weather conditions, the behavior of animals and the growth of plants do not always go according to plan, which means that your flexibility will often be called upon
• Collaboration skills: being able or learning to collaborate with local managers, owners and employees

What is the best place to go when you want to work at a hotel, hostel or ecolodge abroad?

• Working in backpacker hostels: Mexico, Peru, New Zealand
• Working in hotels: Spain, Austria, Curacao
• Working in ecolodges: South Africa, Costa Rica, Caribbean, Malawi

To what extent are you insured for risks if you work at a hotel, hostel or ecolodge abroad?

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance for paid work abroad
• During work, internship or volunteer work abroad the coverage of your own local health insurance normally expires. You then need special insurance to remain insured for illness and accidents. Local employers usually offer no, or limited, supplementary insurance.
• There is a chance of accidents because, for example, you are doing work with which you have little experience.
• A number of specialized insurances offer opportunities to do (temporary) paid work abroad.
• See the pages about insuring paid work abroad and the pages about your health care costs abroad.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Betaald werken in het buitenland verzekeren (NL)

What is working on a sailing yacht or cruise ship abroad?

• Working on a cruise ship or sailing yacht can consist of one or more roles that can or must be fulfilled. Staff on a cruise ship or large sailing yacht can be roughly divided into three types.
• The highest in rank are the officers, which includes the captain, but also the doctor and the management staff.
• Then comes the staff, which includes shop staff, casino staff, serving staff with customer contact, beauticians and independent shop owners.
• The lowest in rank is the crew, which includes the stewards and catering staff without customer contact, but also the cleaners and the lowest technical staff.

Why would you work on a boat or cruise ship abroad?

• To gain experience: by working abroad, your work experience increases within your own field of expertise, but also outside of it in general. You experience much more during your stay abroad when you go to work than when you would already be travelling
• To strengthen your empathy: by going to work in a different culture you often strengthen your own ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. The differences in culture, working methods and communication methods ensure that you accept other things more quickly or take them as they are. Your own perspective quickly becomes broader, wider and especially more flexible
• To increase your stress resistance: you regularly work under reasonable or great pressure; working in a different culture can be an attack on your stress resistance. Especially due to pressure that can arise because you have to communicate in a different language, have to perform new tasks or receive limited coaching. Yet it is true for almost everyone that these experiences contribute to the fact that your stress resistance increases significantly
• To discover and accept your own qualities: further away from your familiar environment you discover more quickly what you can actually do and what you actually want. By going to work you encounter yourself more often, you get to know yourself better and accept who you are and want to be.

What do you need if you want to work on a ship?

• Professionalism: you often have to work hard and a lot. Furthermore, a positive appearance and being easy to get along with are important qualities. You are a fast learner and enjoy working in a multicultural environment.
• Service orientation: especially if you have a lot of contact with the guests, their wishes always come first.
• Being flexible: Do you not need to know weeks in advance exactly what your day will look like, but is it enough to find out at the moment? Then you have a good attitude
• Communication skills: On a ship you get different guests every trip and it is important that you get to know them as quickly as possible in order to tailor everything to their wishes.
• Collaboration skills: even abroad it is important that you learn, or can, collaborate when you are working with others

To what extent are you insured for the risks?

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance for paid work abroad.
• During work, internship or volunteer work abroad, the coverage of your Dutch local insurance normally expires. You then need special insurance to remain insured against illness and accidents.
• Local employers usually do not offer any, or limited, additional insurance. When working on ships, you may already be insured by your employer during your work. This varies per ship and employer
• There is a chance of accidents because, for example, you are doing work with which you have little experience.
• A number of specialized insurances offer options for (temporary) paid work abroad. See the pages about insuring paid work abroad and the pages about your health care costs abroad.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme

What are the most beautiful routes in the world by boat, ship or cruise?

What is the best place to go: the beautiful and famous (top 10) sailing trips

• Along the Ionian Islands in Greece
• Along the Turkish coast
• Across the Andaman Sea
• From Bali to Sulawesi
• From Grenada and the Grenadines to the rest of the Caribbean
• Along the coast of Norway
• From Colombia via the San Blas Islands to Panama (or vice versa)
• Sailing through the Grand Canyon

What is the best place to go: the beautiful and famous (top 10) cruises

• Greek Islands (Rhodes, Santorini)
• Caribbean Islands (St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Curacao)
• Chile: Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales
• The Nile Cruise (all of Egypt by boat)
• South Pacific (including Papeete, Bora Bora)
• Fjord Cruise (towards the North Cape)
• Antarctica (fascinating)
• Panama Canal
• World Cruise (for example 98 days from Rotterdam/The Netherlands)
• Southeast Asia

What are your tasks and duties as a co-assistant or intern in medicine?

• As a co-assistant or intern, you will often work with the ward doctor or the head nurse.
• As the co-assistant or when the internship progresses, you will be given more and more responsibility and will increasingly work independently, under supervision.
• You will often participate in the morning and afternoon handover, the visits, the Multidisciplinary Consultation (MDO).
• You will also learn to perform a number of medical procedures.
• It goes without saying that your duties will be expanded as you progress through your co-assistantships or internship. For example, as a 6th-year co-assistant or intern, you will be able to do much more yourself.

What are your (internship) tasks or duties as a care provider?

• A care provider is someone who provides care to people, so this includes various professions.
• You help people who need extra care, for example the sick or people with a disability.
• You not only provide care to patients, but also to their families. It is important that you teach those involved how to deal with the situation or illness.
• A care provider provides personal care, social and medical care and provides information and advice.
• The care is completely focused on well-being and living. You also help with household tasks, such as tidying up, cleaning and cooking.

What are your (internship) duties as a nurse?

• As a nurse, you perform duties such as personal care, wound care and administering medication and injections.
• As a nurse, you often provide a variety of nursing care to patients.
• Nursing technical procedures include, for example, inserting an IV, a stoma, catheter or a (stomach) tube.
• You observe the patients in the department and sound the alarm in time with a colleague or a doctor in the event of a deterioration in the patient's condition.
• Depending on the specialism, specific nursing procedures are also added, such as taking a blood gas test in the Intensive Care Unit or the Emergency Department.
• You also prepare the rooms and equipment for patients and do administrative work. Both doctors and nurses spend a lot of time documenting the patient's medical data (the current status, changes in the treatment plan including medication).
• In addition to these activities, you also supervise patients; it is important that you help them in how to deal with a situation, such as an illness. As a nurse, you give instructions and advice to the patient and you are the first point of contact for the family in the department. The conversations with the family are usually conducted by the attending physician.

What do you get out of it? Why would you do an internship abroad?

• To gain experience in your own field of work, or in the sector where you may want to work later.
• To experience yourself working in a different environment.
• To be able to work in a different field of work, and see if you like it.
• To use it as a stepping stone for a local job with a salary.
• To help others with your commitment and skills.
• To support organizations or goals that you consider important in your life.

What do you bring with you? What do you need if you want to do an internship abroad?

• Flexibility: you already need some form of flexibility, the rest you will gain during your stay abroad.
• Communication skills: depending on the type of work, you will need to have a reasonable to good command of the local language.
• Independence.
• Being aware of your surroundings.
• Ability to cooperate.

To what extent are you insured for the risks?

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance for an internship abroad, or at least check your insured situation carefully.
• Local organisations generally do not offer any, or very limited, insurance.
• There is a chance of accidents because, for example, you are doing work with which you have little experience.
• During your internship abroad, in most countries, the coverage of your local health insurance expires. You will need special insurance to remain properly insured against illness and accidents.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Werkzaamheden in het buitenland in de zorg en medische sector verzekeren bij werk, stage en vrijwilligerswerk (NL)