Charity offers jobless graduates chance to work in exotic places

Raleigh International will provide bursaries to unemployed graduates to part-fund expeditions to Borneo, Costa Rica, India and Nicaragua in a bid to boost their prospects of getting a job.

The projects can be completed in phases or in a full 10-week expedition, and include a team-based adventure.

Work may include installing gravity-feed water systems in remote Nicaraguan villages, constructing eco-sanitation units in Indian villages or building kindergartens in Borneo.

The environmental phase could include working to transform a former prison island off the coast of Costa Rica into a wildlife refuge, or building elephant trenches in India.

The adventure element offers the tantalising prospect of trekking through diverse landscapes such as rainforests, tea plantations, or climbing volcanoes, learning to dive and conserving coral reefs in Borneo.

The charity said the experience would give participants a chance to learn new skills and give a competitive edge to their CVs.

It is also writing to employers asking them to offer internships to graduates on their return.

A spokeswoman said: "It gives you skills like teamwork and communication skills that employers look for when they are looking at CVs or doing interviews.

"Not everyone can do the expeditions because they can't afford to raise the funds."

Nicholas Oldroyd said the project had helped him win a job in London. The 22-year-old, from Barnsley, graduated with a degree in architecture in June 2009 but failed to get a job despite making many applications.

Three months after returning from a Raleigh expedition he was offered a position with Foster and Partners, a leading architecture firm.

He said: "As important as they are on expedition, skills such as survival, medical and radio weren't the most important lessons that Raleigh taught me.

"It was actually the frame of mind, my sense of purpose and achievement and my attitude that everything is possible – that is what has really helped."

Each of the 10 unemployment blackspots in England have been chosen for the scheme, which in Hull will provide 2,000 bursaries to 10 unemployed graduates.

Applicants must be able to provide 1,000 towards the costs of the expedition and pay for flights, vaccinations and kit.

Raleigh has permanent field bases and staff in each of its expedition countries so it can identify with host governments, local NGOs and communities to ensure that the projects are genuinely needed, worthwhile and sustainable.

The charity said: "Education and career prospects are enhanced through taking part in an expedition, as well as giving young people a chance to become more socially, environmentally and globally aware.

"Young people interact and work in groups with team members from diverse backgrounds, making lifelong friends in the process.

"Plus, participants get a rare opportunity to experience remote off-the-beat locations, which very few tourists get to see, opening their minds to new opportunities in their future."

Applicants must have graduated in 2009 or 2010, be aged 24 or under at the time of departure, must have received a full student grant in their final year at university, and have parents or guardians who were resident in England that year.

For more details or to apply visit the website www.raleighinternational.org.