Group Leaders

Group Leaders can make a student’s trip the best experience they have ever had or a an experience that they never wish to relive!

The office staff spend a lot of time compiling itineraries and making arrangements for groups but Group Leaders are the ones who deliver the package and make the difference. They should be the cherry on top!

We are fortunate to have had some excellent Group Leaders who have worked with us for many trips, each time delivering safe and enjoyable experiences for students.

Group Leaders work s part of the Blue Stamp Team and are supported all the way throughout the trip from the planning stages right up, during the trip 24/7 as necessary, and give us a full brief on their return – your feedback is essential to our future success and progress!

Job Description

Group Leaders travel with our Work Experience groups to ensure the smooth running of the trip and represent Blue Stamp Travel. You will be there to support the students, visit placements and associated paperwork and arrange optional evening activities. Depending on the type of trip you are accompanying, you may have additional responsibilities and these will be explained before you travel.

Required Skills

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, have fluent (native standard) French, German, Spanish and/or Italian. Group Leaders should be bright, bubbly, positive, have an outgoing personality and be able to use their initiative, plan ahead, manage time well and stay calm in stressful situations (which we try to avoid). You must be confident and enjoy spending time with young people who will require your guidance, support and occasionally, boundaries. Being confident with public transport is useful.

Previous experience in accompanying groups abroad is a plus but not essential, as training will be provided. It may be considered favourably in selecting appropriate Group Leaders.

Benefits

• Allowance payment starting from £300 per week.
• Bed and Breakfast accommodation with evening meals or an allowance provided
• Full medical and travel insurance
• Local Transfers in UK (or Abroad depending on your location and destination)
• Social activities with the group

Frequency and Duration

Trips travel each school holiday made up of students from a number of different schools. We also have term time trips and holiday trips of students from a single school sometimes travelling with a teacher or teachers from the school.

Aims of the Programme

The main aim of the Work Experience programme is for students to improve their speaking skills in the language they are studying and to immerse themselves into working life and culture of the country. Student’s language skills improve dramatically even in the space of a week when they need to speak the target language on a daily basis with native speakers.

Students gain work place skills as well as language skills and often comment that they have gained a lot of confidence and enjoy the opportunity to be independent and take responsibility for themselves.

Placements

We understand that it is also important that the students are not only speaking the language but working in an area which is of interest to them or relevant to their future aspirations. We ask students to choose from a list of categories; we then use the top 3 along with their hobbies, career aspirations and we also ask for their dislikes so that we can find them the most appropriate placement. Our office-based placement coordinators match students to their placements.

Most staff at the placements do not speak any English. The Group Leader is the first point of contact to resolve any settling in issues or difficulties that the students experience through their stay. Some students are unfamiliar with the expectations of a work place others are experienced.

Students are expected to make their own way to work and back from work. For some this is a challenge and the Group Leader supports in these cases but all students are provided with maps and usually have google maps on their phones. The group Whatsapp is very useful throughout the week.

The Group Leader will be available throughout the whole week, day and night, should there be any problems although it is rare you will be called in anti-social hours. Group Leaders visit students at the placements throughout the week. This is an enjoyable experience and a really good way to find out more about the city in which you are working. The employers usually give a very generous welcome! Occasionally spare placements are needed and we provide these in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will I travel?

For trips by air, Group Leaders meet at the airport at baggage drop. This is usually Luton or Stansted airports. We will provide travel from your home address to the airport or you can claim mileage and parking for your car.

For trips by coach we will ask you to travel to the allocated meeting point. Your travel costs will be covered.

For trips by Eurostar, the meeting point for the group is at St Pancras International in London. Your travel costs to London will be covered.

What accommodation will I have?

For trips where students are places with host families, you will be allocated a hotel/hostel on a bed and breakfast basis. We will provide a meal allowance in addition.

For Hotel trips you will stay at the same accommodation with the students.

We aim to provide a comfortable accommodation in a central location in the destination city.

How many Group Leaders are there?

Because students are all between the ages of 16 and 18 and capable A-Level students, we have a ratio of 1:15 for most trips. However, this can be much lower if it is a small trip. For larger trips, it is possible that there may be, say, 18 students and 2 Group Leaders.

You may be working on your own as a Group Leader or with another Leader.

Will there be a teacher on the trip?

There are sometimes teachers on trips where all the students are from the same school. Other times the trips are made up of students from a mix of schools and in these cases no teachers travel. Where there is a teacher, it is your responsibility to manage the work placements. The teacher will take responsibility for the students outside of their work placements. You will be expected to work together and provide the teacher with support in the role of a rep – helping navigate the city, book evening activities etc.

Who can be a Group Leader?

We have Group Leaders of all ages; students at university, current teachers, retired teachers, keen travellers with excellent language skills, professionals with second languages… We like to have native speakers but also recognise the benefits that an English speaker who has learned another language can bring to the role.