Try a job abroad as a children's holiday rep for something new, says Annette Rawstrone
Has the start of the new millennium made you reflect on your life and caused you to make umpteen resolutions to do something different and exciting this year? Children's rep Fiona Bruce would encourage you to go with your dreams. She impulsively decided to take her childcare experience abroad and now, five years on, ensconced on a paradise island in the Caribbean, she can't ever imagine doing an 'ordinary' job again.
An NNEB, NVQ in playwork or equivalent qualification is your passport to working abroad in exotic locations as a children's rep. The hours tend to be long, the work demanding and the pay basic - around #80 per week - but in return you get food and shared accommodation provided. Not to mention the perks of a lasting tan, a ready- made social life and all the fun that living in a new country and investigating a different culture can hold.
'It's great and I'd recommend it to everybody,' says Fiona, 26, who is a childcare assistant for Sunsail Clubs. Based on the tropical island of Antigua in the West Indies, she is surrounded by sandy beaches, palm trees and warm sunshine all year round. 'A lot of the time it doesn't even feel like I'm at work,' she says. 'The safety and well-being of the children is top priority, but we can have loads of fun because they're on holiday. We play in the pool and on the beach and even take them sailing. You can't do that in many childcare jobs!
'The social life is also great. We're encouraged to use the facilities and the sailing instructors organise staff sailing. There are lots of British staff here so we all party together, and if you are feeling down there is always someone to cheer you up.'
Fiona cares for groups of children ranging from four months to 12 years old. Stamina, bags of energy and enthusiasm are a must. Childcare assistants work six days a week from eight in the morning until 4:30pm, but work doesn't stop when the toys are cleared away. Staff are expected to mingle with guests in the evening. Sunsail recruitment officer Jason King says socialising is an important part of the job. 'We look to recruit people with life experience,' he says. 'Being a children's rep is hard work and all our staff get involved in the social side by having dinner with the guests and running entertainment.
'It is also important for them to be flexible, because it is a demanding job with long hours. They have got to be outgoing and children's reps need the ability to get on with a large team. They need to be willing to mix and to help out wherever they're needed.'
Fiona adds, 'You have got to really like what you do. It isn't a nine-to-five job that you can go home and switch off from.
'The job can be difficult because you can get attached to the children, but we must remember they're going home soon. It's a low moment when it comes time to say goodbye, but then the new children arrive with a fresh influx of energy.'
The hot Caribbean sun and presence of water means children's reps need to be constantly vigilant. Training on arrival includes important points on protecting children from the heat (staying indoors between midday and 2:30pm, drinking plenty of water, regularly applying sun cream and keeping sun hats with neck protectors firmly on children's heads). Reps are also given lessons on company policy and activity planning.
Missing home comforts, friends and family is to be expected. But Fiona says, 'It's a huge perk to be working on a Caribbean island and experiencing another culture. Above all, there are not many jobs where you can look out of the window each morning, be greeted by the sun and palm trees blowing and look forward to getting up and doing your job.'