I believe students more than ever still have a strong desire to explore the world, but now more than ever they want their travels to serve a purpose. They are seeking opportunities that allow them to learn new skills or enhance existing ones, in order to create a clear path for their future careers.
Young people today understand that purposeful travel can provide them with valuable experiences and insights beyond traditional classrooms. By actively incorporating travel into their education, students can develop unique skills, expand their networks, and set themselves apart in the competitive job market.
Tell us a bit about your role and how does it support the business?
I work as a Global Placement Manager here at BUNAC focusing on building a network of employers that are looking to host international workers & Interns.
My role allows me to network with employers globally, who are interested in hiring international candidates throughout our different programs. I get the opportunity to bring diversity and culture to businesses by hiring candidates from another country, while also enabling young people to work the world and gain global experiences by working abroad. By connecting with employers in different countries and industries, it allows our presence to grow, our mission statement to be put into action and become a brand that is well known all over the world by employers, and travellers.
My day-to-day involves reaching out to new companies or re-connecting with past BUNAC hosts, singing the benefits of having access to the global talent pool. For new companies, this can be an educational piece letting them know about BUNAC’s part in the visa sponsorship process, as well as sharing the stories of companies in the past that have hosted interns through the BUNAC GAE scheme and how this has helped companies’ diversity initiatives by hosting international workers.
What has been your career highlight to date?
The highlight of my career so far has been getting the chance to assist in the launch of our Job Hub platform and seeing employers onboarded and utilising it after lots of hard work by the whole team!
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
The best advice I have received, is to travel while I was young. Many of my friends and family after graduating college went straight into their careers, whereas I took a different path and choose to travel instead. This decision led me to invaluable experiences that no one could have ever taught me. I learned how to communicate with people from different worlds, work in a different culture, and also how to be confident in my own shoes on my own. My travels ended up leading me to my career, which I love, and where I get to now inspire and encourage young people to follow in the same footsteps as I did. I am a leading example of that very important advice that was given to me, which I share daily now in the work that I do.
What are the emerging trends within your sector and have these changed since Covid?
I believe students more than ever still have a strong desire to explore the world, but now more than ever they want their travels to serve a purpose. They are seeking opportunities that allow them to learn new skills or enhance existing ones, in order to create a clear path for their future careers.
Young people today understand that purposeful travel can provide them with valuable experiences and insights beyond traditional classrooms. By actively incorporating travel into their education, students can develop unique skills, expand their networks, and set themselves apart in the competitive job market.
Have you noticed any shifts in consumer behaviour and what does your brand do to remain relevant and connected to your target audience?
We’ve seen an increase in the number of touch points we have with our customers before they book with us. It’s all about trust and taking the time to ensure that customers needs are met and they feel confident we’re able to provide what we say we do. We’ve also introduced more ways for our customers to connect with us that suits their personal needs. Whether that’s through live chat, video consultation or SMS, we’re seeing our customers adopting more ways to communicate with us versus traditional methods of email and phone lines.
Customer reviews play a big part with customer confidence when considering their opinions. Reviews are now being trusted as much as personal recommendation and we know that this is a key consideration to our target audience when they are weighing up their options, so reviews remain a big focus for us as a business.
What is coming up for your company in the next 12/18 months?
We have a very exciting year lined up here at BUNAC. We are expanding our employer network, establishing our new brand JENZA in new markets and fostering new relationships with companies to grow our UK visa sponsorship B2B network.
JENZA is our new brand, which is a joint venture with our sibling companies BUNAC & USIT. JENZA first launched in Australia and New Zealand in Feb 2023 and now in the UK from July 23. Our JENZA brand is focused on Gen Z and built alongside our Youth Advisory Panel, ensuring our jobs are pre-vetted and our programmes are given the green light by our road testers. We are excited to add this additional brand to our portfolio.
As a membership association what one thing do you think we have done that has made a real difference to you as a business?
The network within BETA is invaluable, assisting to raise our profile within our sector along with networking opportunities that enable us to have a voice and share experiences and challenges in this industry.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges, threats and opportunities for youth, student and educational travel in the next few years?
One of the biggest threats youth travel faces is the sharp rise in the cost-of-living globally, affecting young people’s ability to afford to travel. This is why there is even more focus on our programme opportunities for young people and accessibility to afford an overseas experience. We will continue to grow our network of employers for paid work experience abroad, ensuring our customers don’t have to choose between getting a job or going travelling – because you can do both.
Find out more about BETA Member BUNAC here
Published 01 August 2023
