PhD student Lynley Aldridge researching overseas gap years/ working holidays, by interviewing graduates, employers/ recruiters etc in Britain and Japan.
This research is being conducted by Lynley Aldridge, a PhD Researcher from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, and currently a Foreign Visiting Researcher in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Hosei University in Tokyo. Its purpose is to explore the overseas gap year/ working holiday from a cross-cultural comparative perspective. I'm interested in what motivates gr
aduates from Britain and Japan to undertake working holidays overseas. I'd also like to find out what graduates, employers/ recruiters and others knowledgeable about graduate employment trajectories see as the consequences of such overseas gap years and working holidays. As part of this research, I would like to speak with former working holidaymakers about their experiences during the working holiday and afterwards. This would be an informal conversation, for approximately an hour and a half, at a time and a place that is convenient for you (and could also be conducted via phone or Skype). If you traveled overseas for a working holiday between 1 and 10 years ago, and would be willing to talk to me about your experiences, please get in touch. In addition to working holidaymaker interviews, I would also like to speak to recruiters/ employers, and other informants, to explore their perceptions of - and/or experiences with - graduates who have taken gap years and/or working holidays. This would be an informal conversation, for approximately 45 minutes, at a time and a place that is convenient for you (and could also be conducted via phone or Skype). If you are willing to talk to me about these topics, please get in touch. This research has been approved by the University of Leeds Ethics Committee (AREA #12-132).
