On a backpacking holiday in Adelaide, Ty Martin met the girl of his dreams. There was a problem, however - he hails from Newcastle, she lives on the other side of the world in Norway. They corresponded after they returned to their respective homes and in 2005 Ty decided to travel to Oslo to see her.
Making use of a reciprocal working holiday agreement, he spent a year in Norway labouring on a building site and toiling as handyman at a museum.
"Finding work wasn't a problem," says Martin, 24, who is now maintaining a long-distance relationship with his love. "And it's the best scenery I've seen in the world."
Changes to reciprocal working holiday agreements over the past decade have dramatically increased the number of countries young Australians can work in, whether the motivation be love, adventure or money. Would-be world travellers in the mid-1990s had only a handful of options to work legally overseas, such as Britain and Canada, but the number of countries has ballooned to 23, including South Korea, Italy and the United States.
People who take the opportunity to work abroad can find themselves more desirable to employers on their return. Di Rachinger, a researcher at Graduate Careers Australia, says many employers hire graduates who have a grasp of other languages. Two examples are the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Immigration, which look for cultural sensitivity and language skills.
"A lot of employers value people who travel because it demonstrates they have been out on their own and communicated in difficult situations," Rachinger says.
Conditions and the type of visa available vary from country to country but typically working holiday arrangements are targeted at young people. To be eligible you usually need to be aged between 18 and 30 at the time of application, have proof of a return airfare and sufficient funds to cover your initial living expenses. Visa holders are generally permitted to work for only part of the time they are in a foreign country, with the main purpose of any work being to fund the holiday.
Bryan Havenhand, the author of Working Overseas, says Norway, Denmark, Germany and Sweden have issued working holiday visas to young Australians since 2001. Most jobs available to foreigners are unskilled positions unless applicants can speak the local language. Strawberry-picking is probably the easiest job to land in Denmark, while in Germany Australians can find jobs in tourism, agriculture and construction.
Since 2004 other European possibilities for Australian working holidaymakers have included Italy, France and Belgium. Havenhand says au pair work and teaching English are popular ways to earn money in Italy. However, Australians can expect strong competition from British teachers. He warns that poor French language skills will not make you sought after in France and Belgium.
Havenhand says London remains a honeypot to working holidaymakers in Europe because of its job opportunities, proximity to continental Europe and common language.
In late 2007 Australia became the first country to have a Work and Holiday visa arrangement with the US. Intending travellers must show evidence they have been students in the past 12 months and be sponsored by government agencies or the private sector.
Havenhand says Australians wishing to teach English in the Pacific Rim should consider South Korea as an option. For some it may be a more attractive choice than Japan, where a major employer of English teachers recently collapsed. "Even those with no experience or qualifications may find work teaching conversational English classes [in South Korea]," he says.
The country introduced 12-month working holiday visas for Australians in 1995. The best English teaching prospects are in major cities such as Seoul and Pusan.
Havenhand says on a Hong Kong working holiday visa Australians are not permitted to work for any one employer for more than three months. There are good opportunities for freelance English teachers and those with a background in IT.
Chile has been a working holiday option since 2006 and teaching English has the best job prospects. If you have excellent Spanish, bilingual secretaries are in demand.
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