Research dispels myth that gap years are the preserve of affluent youngsters

29 July 04

The 'Review of Gap Year Provision' report, published today, was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and was carried out by Dr Andrew Jones from Birkbeck, University of London, to provide an overview of the policy issues surrounding gap years taken by 16-25 year olds in the UK. The main issues addressed were:

·- defining what a gap year is;
·- national levels of participation;
·- the benefits and disadvantages of undertaking different kinds of activities on a gap year;
·- a survey of the organisations that provide gap year opportunities;
·- existing standards and approaches to quality assurance in gap year provision.

The report's author, Dr Andrew Jones from Birkbeck's School of Geography, said: "The key finding I would highlight that comes out of the research is the enormous benefits young people can get from a well-planned gap year. Those who use the time to work in voluntary placement, both in the UK and overseas, gain a range of skills which universities, FE colleges and employers value enormously. This is often missed in the media coverage and too many young people miss out on this kind of opportunity."

He also added: "Gap years cover a huge range of activities in reality. The research dispels a lot of the common myths about gap year being the preserve of affluent young people on an extended holiday.

Key Findings:

A gap 'year' is defined as a period of time between 3 and 24 months which an individual takes 'out' of formal education, training or the workplace where that time sits in the context of a longer term career trajectory

The term 'gap year' covers a large range of activities which are best categorised around the 'break point' at which a young person undertakes one. Most young people participate in more than one kind of activity.

Between 200,000 and 250,000 young people aged 16-25 are estimated to take a gap year of some kind each year, although this figure needs to be treated with caution. Participation is rising year-on-year.

More and more young people from diverse backgrounds are undertaking gap years; it is becoming less the preserve of affluent middle class and private-school educated young people.

Planned and well structured gap years are a highly beneficial experience for young people. They are often important factors in facilitating the next step in education or employment. Participants gain a wide range of life skills and other more specialised skills. These skills are often the ones employers identify as lacking in new recruits and are valued by universities. Gap year participation also benefits wider society both in terms of the activities young people undertake and the wider impact of facilitating the integration of young people into society as functioning citizens.

Young people are motivated to take a gap year for a wide range of factors with the influence of school, universities, friends and family being important. However, the desire for a break from education, work or training is an important underlying motivation.

There has been a considerable improvement in young people's access to information on gap year opportunities over the last decade.

Most young people fund their gap year through a variety of sources to support: paid work, savings and sponsorship are as, if not more, important than parental support.

There are a very large number of gap year providing organisations based in the UK offering sufficient opportunities for current levels of demand. Most of these organisations are small, offering less than 1000 places per annum.

The gap year providing sector already has developed some quality assurance procedures and the sector is working hard to develop better mechanisms.

A number of gap year participant accreditation schemes exist around specific types of activity placements and the review suggests that there is further scope for accreditation scheme development in the sector. However, an overall gap year accreditation scheme would not be appropriate because of the diverse nature of activities that are undertaken.

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