Agencies such as The Working Holiday Club?

Hey guys, sorry to make another thread so close to my last but have more questions! I applied for some ski lift jobs online and was contacted by a company called The Working Holiday Club who seem to be some kind of agency who help you through the application process, guarantee a UK interview etc to try and guarantee you a job before you get out to Canada. They have jobs at both Whistler Blackcomb and Silver Star, both are resorts I have been looking at applying to when I get out to Canada in September.

Basically is it worth the agency fees (not sure how much they are at the minute) or is it very easy to do it all yourself when you get out there? Bearing in mind I don't seem to have much luck with job interviews in general so could probably do with all the help I can get! Apparently one of the team at WHC has just completed 15 seasons as HR manager at Blackcomb so has a good idea of what they look for in candidates.. If successful you also get a lift pass apparently worth $1500 which would recoup any fees.

What do you reckon?

Reply 1

gemini89

Hmmm, I can't comment too much on the help the WHC could give you for jobs in British Columbia, but it's easy enough to get a working holiday visa for Canada if you're a British citizen under 31, though it takes a while (around 2 months, give or take a few weeks) and there is a limited number. Have a look here for info. I've got my work permit and am heading out to Vancouver in November and toying with the idea of doing a ski season in BC also, probably working in customer service (retail/guest services, whatever). I'm not planning anything though, just heading out there and seeing how it goes.

Reply 2

_tom_

I've already applied for the visa and got my letter of acceptance, but because I don't have any retail or customer service experience (apart from a summer at tesco) I'm thinking it will be hard to get a job without a bit of help - I don't really want to come back after a few weeks as I've ran out of money!

Just found out the WHC fees are £499 which seems a lot just to get a job, but it would be great to have a secure job offer before going out there, plus the ski pass and subsidised accomodation would help a lot!

Reply 3

gemini89

Original post by _tom_

Have you heard about the Natives job fair already? I saw it mentioned by some people planning to do a ski season in Whistler on the Work Canada Facebook group. Might be helpful if you're in London.

Is there any way you can find some more work experience between now and when you go? (guessing you're going nearer to winter?)

Concerning the WHC fees....I'm just not a big believer in paying companies, as its difficult to know whether you'll get a tangible result out of it that would be worth your money. I've heard of so many companies who offer 'guaranteed' jobs abroad, but really they just mean a guaranteed interview for one job or something. Not saying that is true of WHC, but as a rule I just stay away from any companies!! If you haven't already, have a good google around for reviews from people who've used them before.

Reply 4

Dolf

Well, it really depends on the company. Some offer several interviews and prices differ considerably as well. If you want to go with one, just check beforehand which gives you a trustworthy impression.

Reply 5

Happyduck

As a client of the WHC I would firstly like to start my experience by saying DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. I thinking it was a good idea agreed to go with WHC after reading positive reviews on it and it looked like it could really help me out to get settled in London. So you pay your deposit, get phone calls explaining from people what this package entitles you to, you then decide from all that you've heard that it's a really good idea and seems legit. You pay your $700 or however much it was for what you believe is a place to live, a job, a bank account, a SIM card, Hostel accommodation and god knows what else they dribbled. Little did they tell you that the Hostel you stay at is disgusting, rarely any hot water, mushrooms growing out of the bathroom walls (Have proof of this as I took pictures), my bed had dirty spoons in them, some had bed bugs and mice traps right next to their head.
So you confirm a date you want to start working, yet you dont start until the week after, you also dont get your room options until a few days later and by then your 3 free nights (not really free considering you pay $700 for nothing) are used up and then you have to start paying 16 pound a night. Yeah you all may think its only 16pound but when youve just spent $700 or more on this package youd expect to stay there for free until you find a place to live as that is apart of the package and especially considering you have only just got your house optionals and the hostel is disgusting. So you also think that you willl get to stay in a nice house, cheap rent, living in good conditions and have all the hard work done for you...think again. If you don't pay your deposit you supposedly get worse options (I didn't pay my deposit) however my options were similar to those who did and they all wish that they didn't. You get options of places ranging from prices of 400-850pound, however the cheaper you go the more disgusting they were, some people in the hostel said they wouldnt even let their dog live at the places they viewed. Anyway off topic, you get these options which are really expensive, yet at your orientation they tell you that you will struggle to pay 500 or more a month. They also really try to convince you not to find your own place because OMG SO MANY SHARKS OUT THERE (ITS CALLED COMMON SENSE). I looked at one option and it was gross, so after that i started looking at places on spare room, flat share etc. You could rent an actual house with other people for cheaper than a room for rent in a flat.
The job, now thats a completely different story. Im sure you all have been told you will be working with celebrities, getting tips, doing this and that blah blah blah. So this work is done through elements, What you don't get told is that you get rostered on for eg. 6am-1pm. You firstly have to wake up at 4am as you need to meet an hour or half an hour before the shift, 1pm isn't actually your finishing time, you could be there for 14 hours before you're allowed to say you are leaving. If you complain before hand and say you have things to do than you will get sent home without pay despite the fact you could have worked 12 hours that day. You usually get one 30min break in your 12 hour shift, some places better than others with breaks. You could be doing absolutely nothing at work and they still wont send you home. Also if you call up sick you need to get an emergency doctors certificate (broken leg etc.) and if you do not than there will be a 30 pound fee which comes out of your pay. Most of the time when you're sick and can't go to work is because you have a migraine, vomiting etc, those things can't get you an emergency certificate so you are almost certain to lose that 30pound you worked a few hours for. If you finish at 3am than its your problem with getting home late at night, I hated that the most, as anything could happen to someone, especially a young girl roaming the streets at night alone in a place so unfamiliar. If the work was positive and the people were nice it wouldn't have been so bad but the environment was disgusting. You would get spoken to like dirt, treated like a slave and basically everything you did was not good enough. Some of my friends even went home early as the work made them feel so depressed and home sick that they couldn't bare it anymore.
You also have to set up your own bank account, all they do is book an appointment, Oh an 10 other peoples appointments at the same time, so some people missed theirs as the bank was closing. The SIM card you get is ****, don't even bother with it. You pay a deposit at the hostel of 30pound which most people forget about and they never remind you so unless you nag them for it they will give it to you. It took me a few weeks to get mine back when I had asked for it. Friends who had moved out of their accommodation and requested their 200pound deposit back from WHC didn't get it until about 2 weeks later, which is ridiculous as new people are constantly flowing in. The girls who do your roster are very rude and childish, abusing people if they couldn't make their shift because they were sick. They would say things like 'you have to go to your shift', 'so disappointed in you', 'If i were doing your roster I wouldn't give you shifts at all'. They can add and change your shifts anywhere up until 8pm the night before. They tell you the uniform is cheap to buy when really its not, probably over 100pound I spent and that was even going to Primark and Shoe Zone. You'd think you'd get it for free considering we payed $700. They also reputedly explain how your pay is much higher than most places, in some cases yes but a lot of other jobs pay higher amounts.
In other words, after my massive negative essay I am assuming you understand what im trying to say, do not go through the WHC. You are better off coming to London, staying in a cheap hostel, finding your own accommodation through websites, use your common sense if something seems dodgy. Find a job online, dropping off your resumes, looking at Facebook pages or even agencies who help you find jobs. It seems like such a big effort but it's worth it and it will save you a lot of money you can spend on travels and yourself. Since not associating with WHC I have had such a better time living in London. I just wanted to share my experience as it seems not many people have shared the negatives and I know a lot of people agree 99% with me as everyone who Ive known who has gone through them has felt the same way.

Reply 6

Denboss92

Hey happyduck! I didn't read this post before I agreed to pay TWHC :frown:

I'm extremely home sick atm ( just finished 6-7weeks of travel through Europe)

Question is would you recommend doing the 8weeks full time up until the end of season or do casual for 4-5 weeks? I've never done hospitality work before & I'm considering doing casual & then just going to Scotland for work or travel :smile: